


Neon Planet

by UnderZeWeather



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, BAMF Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Misunderstandings, Original Character(s), Temporary Character Death, no one is actually dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:07:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 89,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22902178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather
Summary: After a mission goes wrong Lance is MIA and assumed dead. The team has had to learn to cope and move on for the good of Voltron and the universe. Two years later the team travel to a new planet in hopes of them joining the coalition, though no one really cares much for diplomatic meetings with parties and mingling with the locals. It reminded the team of their missing member.However, there is a soldier on the planet that seems oddly familiar. No one can really put their finger on it, but they can't dwell on it for too long. They have a mission. They don't have time to get too involved with strange locals, but then again...
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 1154
Kudos: 930





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of just wanted to do a really whumpy fic along with just some other stuff... Anyway, I'd really appreciate any feedback you guys might want to give me. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith hadn’t been sleeping very well lately. Then again which Paladin could say they ever slept well these days? Zarkon was still a major threat to the universe and it was just harder and harder to push the Galra back. It felt like they were fighting a losing battle. 

With a sigh, Keith headed back to that room. In that room it had a nice simulation of his solar system’s stars. It was nice to just lay down on his back and watch the stars. It was kind of comforting. He could have stayed there for hours as he switched between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Though his solitude wasn’t there for long. He heard someone laying down next to him and humming happily. “Hey Keith.” Said Lance. “Brooding again?”

“Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Fuck, you’re annoying.” Grumbled Keith. “I just want to watch the stars.”

“Okay.”

For the most part Lance was quiet, but just his presence there made Keith hyper aware of him. Over time Keith felt like he had grown close to the noisy blue paladin. He was loud, abrasive, annoying, but he was kind, compassionate, and caring. Over time, Keith had felt like he had a deeper connection with him, and he probably shouldn’t have all things considered.

“Hey, remember that thing I did in the training room?” Asked Lance.

“What? When you went and got a high score?”

“No, the incident.” Said Lance. “It’s been two Deca-Phoeb’s since then.”

“... Yeah, it has.” Keith didn’t like thinking about the incident. It was probably one of the worst things that had happened to the team. It made Keith’s stomach turn with how he handled it.

***

Allura had called all the Paladins in for training. Of course the princess was all bright and chipper as ever. “Glad to see you all made it in time. I know early morning training isn’t your favourite, but it’s time to train.”

Hunk yawned a little as he adjusted his breast plate. “Could we start after breakfast?”

“I agree with Hunk.” Muttered Pidge. “I need my space coffee.”

“You’re too young to be drinking coffee.” Said Shiro. “It stunts your growth.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Like I can get any shorter.”

“Well actually...” Said Coran.

“Not now Coran.” Said Allura quickly. “We’re going to run some group simulations today. It will be fun. So all of you start warming up while Coran and I make it up to the control booth.” The two Altean’s head up to the control booth and Shiro clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Alright team. We’ll start off doing a little hand to hand combat. Time to pair up...” He looked at the group. “Hunk and Pidge, go over there. Lance and Keith, over there. Now remember, this is just a warm up. Nothing crazy. Got it?” The teens nodded and quickly split off. 

Lance yawned a little as he stretched. “And of course Shiro pairs me with you… Man I wish I was paired with Hunk or Pidge. Unlike some people they know how to take it easy.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Well unlike some people I actually take training seriously. We’re at war you idiot.”

“Who says I don’t take training seriously?” Asked Lance.

“Your complete lack of dedication for starters.”

Lance gasped in dramatic hurt. “Mullet! I am shocked! You think you’re the only one that-”

“Okay, go!” Called Shiro.

Before Lance could blink, Keith grabbed Lance and had him in a choke hold. Keith held him in place until Lance tapped out. Keith let him go and smirked. “Yeah. So dedicated.”

“You caught me off guard.” Grumbled Lance. “You won’t next time.” But Keith did again, and again, and again, and again. Lance was getting more and more frustrated each time he got pinned or put in a hold, having to tap out. Each time Lance kept getting frustrated, which made his moves sloppy. Which just made Keith smirk. Lance made this too easy.

After what felt like twenty minutes Shiro eventually called it off and everyone reconvened in the center of the room. Hunk and Pidge apparently had a relatively even session with Pidge managing to use her size against Hunk. Lance seemed very annoyed by this since he wasn’t able to pin Keith even once. Not Keith’s fault. Lance needed to get better.

Shiro looked like he was giving Lance sympathetic looks. It was dumb. Shiro couldn’t baby them forever. Especially some goofball. Lance needed tough love if he was going to survive in this war.

“Alright, everyone all warmed up?” Asked Shiro. The group begrudgingly agreed and Shiro gave Coran and Allura a thumbs up and Allura’s voice came over the speakers.

_“Alright everyone. We’re going to be running a few new group simulations today.”_ She said. _“These will test both your short range and long range attacks. You will need to work together to survive.”_

_“Right you are princess.”_ Said Coran happily. _“Right let’s see… Ah, here’s one we haven’t done yet. It’s wave based. Just see how long you can all survive kind of thing. Sound good to you all?”_ Everyone agreed and Coran made a happy sound. _“Alright, bayards out and here we go.”_ There was a few moments of silence before a robotic voice sounded out.

_“Running simulation; SKPHL_V-TRON_VERSION1.5.. Running simulation in 3-”_

Everyone took a fighting stance, except Lance. He just stood there in shock. “Lance, fighting stance.” Said Shiro quickly.

_“2.”_

“Did it just say version1.5?” Asked Lance in a quivering voice.

Hunk gave him a strange look. “Yeah? Why?”

“It’s not ba-”

_“1.”_

In an instant the group was surrounded by the training bots. The usual blue gems in their faces changed to red and they got swarmed. Normally if they got swarmed things would be okay. The robots were programmed to stun not go for the kill. However this training simulation seemed to be set to the highest difficulty.

Within seconds everyone was getting thrown around the room like rag dolls. There was a sick crack as Pidge and Hunk hit the floor. A blur of blue as Lance got launched into the air. Something black, more than likely Shiro, slammed into him and then Keith was thrown into a wall. His head bounced off the wall and the floor.

When Keith opened his eyes he was stepping out of a healing pod. Everyone else was standing around as Pidge was furiously typing through her laptop. Everyone was still banged up and bruised despite how long they were in the healing pods for.

“I can’t believe this happened.” Said Allura. “How could this have happened? Why was it set to the highest difficulty?”

“I don’t know.” Said Coran. “It was in the medium difficulty folder. It shouldn’t have been so high…”

“I’m sure we can figure this out.” Said Shiro. “Do you have anything yet Pidge?”

After a few seconds she sighed. “Okay, so good news, bad news. According to the time stamp this simulation exists in both the hardest and medium difficulties, which is good. It means it’s deliberate. Which is also the bad news.”

“How?” Asked Hunk.

“According to the time stamp the older one is in the hard difficulty, while the medium one is new. It was only saved in the medium difficulty folder yesterday.” Said Pidge. “In other words, someone deliberately moved the file.”

“It could have been an accident?” Suggested Lance. “Maybe it is a tech glitch?”

“Doubtful.” Said Pidge. “I’m going to look at the security feed to see who did it, if it was a person and not a glitch. Just have to look at the time stamp and find the right camera.”

Lance laughed nervously. “I don’t think you need to do-”

“Done!” Said Pidge as she hit play. Keith looked over her shoulder and was enraged by what he saw. He saw Lance walking into the control room, with not a care in the world. He spent a good hour inside the control room before he left. No one else entered the control room until Allura and Coran did earlier that day.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Snapped Keith.

Lance jumped back. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Whoa, slow your roll there Keith. I-”

“What were you thinking?” Asked Allura. “Why would you mess with Altean technology? You put the whole team in danger because of your stupid mistake! What if Zarkon attacked and you were all stuck in healing pods?”

“A-Allura I… I didn’t think that…”

Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s right. You never think! Why are you so fucking stupid? This fucking prank could have killed someone! Stick to your fucking guns and shitty pickup lines!”

Shiro put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, that’s enough… Lance, this was really irresponsible of you. I don’t know why you thought this was a good practical joke but this was way over the line.”

“Practical joke?” Lance looked hurt and confused. “But it… I…” He looked defeated. Like a kid that got caught doing something wrong. “I’m sorry guys I… I don’t know what I was thinking… I’ll um… I’ll just go now…” He quickly left the room while everyone was left to question why the hell Lance would try and hurt them in such a stupid practical joke.

***

Lance laughed a little. “I got a concussion and dislocated my shoulder. It sucked balls man… Is that the Southern cross?” He pointed up at the projected stars.

Keith looked up and nodded. “Yeah. That’s the Southern Cross.”

“Yeah…” Lance sighed. “Man, when this is all over I want to lie back and watch the stars on a nice grassy hill.”

“...”

“When we get back to Earth want to do that with me?”

“Sure…” Said Keith quietly. “We’ll do that. Sounds fun.”

Lance grinned. “Awesome. I’ve always loved space. It’s just so… so big. I love it.”

“I know. You always say it.”

“Yeah… Are we almost at that planet Allura said we should get to if we have time?”

“Dotra?” Questioned Keith. “Yeah… We’re a quintant away.”

“Cool… You think they will tell us what the deal was with that nuleum crystal stuff?”

Nuleum. Keith hated that stuff. He wished the Galra never got that crystal. It was so dangerous. He didn’t know what they were thinking. It was so unstable. It was like someone gave a toddler a nuclear reactor, a hammer, and told them to go nuts.

***

A week after the incident Allura called everyone else to the bridge. The Galra were starting to invade a peaceful planet using some kind of new weapon capable of erasing entire cities off the face of the planet’s surface.

“It looks like they are using a nuleum crystal.” Said Coran. “Very fragile, highly unstable, but extremely powerful. It comes from a planet called Dotra over the other side of the universe. It’s extremely rare and highly valuable. It also has some really weird properties that we don’t really know about. Temporal shifts, spontaneous wormholes. Hence why it’s so unstable, but it’s also a very powerful energy resource.”

“What’s the best way to stop them?” Asked Shiro.

Coran thought for a moment. “Well if you destroy the nuleum the after shock should be enough to take out the main forces. It would be risky and you’d need to do this as a stealth mission of course. Get in, get out, blow up the nuleum.”

Shiro nodded as he quickly formulated a plan in his head. “Pidge, you think you can rig up some explosives or a virus to blow up the nuleum?”

“What do you take me for? A chump?”

“Good. Hunk, Lance, you and Pidge will stealth down in Green and take out the nuleum.” Said Shiro. “Keith and I will run a distraction. We’ll scramble their forces and lure them as far away as possible. We’ll try and give you guys as much time as possible. Everyone to your lions.” Everyone nodded and quickly broke away to their lions. 

Over the past few days Lance had repaired his friendship with Hunk and Pidge. He was still working on being forgiven by Allura and Shiro, but knowing Shiro he’d probably forgive him completely after another day. Lance had made no effort to try and get Keith to forgive him. Did he just think Keith would roll over and forgive him if Shiro forgave him? That was bullshit. He wanted an apology from the stupid blue paladin too.

When they got to the hanger Pidge quickly ran off to grab a bomb from her workstation. Keith watched her go for a bit before he walked to his own lion. As he walked to Red he passed Lance and couldn’t help but hit him with a quick verbal jab.

“Hope someone doesn’t pull any more practical jokes while we’re doing this.” He didn’t see Lance’s reaction, but he knew the Blue Paladin heard him. Keith just climbed into Red and headed out into space to meet up with Shiro.

_“Everything okay Keith?”_ Asked Shiro over the intercom.

“I’m just tired and frustrated with Lance. He’s always doing shit for no reason… Why can’t he take things more seriously?”

Shiro sighed. _“Keith, there is more to the story than you think there is. Lance is-”_

“Are we really going to talk about this now?” Asked Keith. “We’re about to swoop in and cause a huge distraction to like, what? Three Galra battleships or something? Let’s just get this done and I’ll talk to Lance later.”

_“You promise?”_

“Promise.” 

Suddenly Pidge called in and Shiro quickly brought them into the call. _“Everything set Pidge?”_

_“Yeah.”_ She said. _“We have a timed bomb. Would have used a detonator, but considering the nature of the mission of getting in and getting out this seemed to be the better option. Plus I didn’t have a detonator on hand... We’re going to drop in on the starboard side of that ship. Since it’s a modified battleship it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the nuleum core.”_

_“Good work Pidge. Just in and out.”_ Reminded Shiro. _“Nothing fancy, nothing dramatic. You ready?”_

_“Yes.”_ Called the three from the Green lion.

_“Alright team. We all know what to do. Keith, let’s give them some cover.”_

“You got it Shiro.” Keith patted the console. “Let’s give them hell, Red.” There was a slight rumbling deep inside his mind that comforted and encouraged him to move forward. Keith grinned and flew forwards towards the battleships at high speed. He fired his laser across the body of one of the ships and it was game on.

Keith was an adrenaline junkie. He knew that. He always had been. Being in a warzone was probably the best place for him anyway. He had nothing back on earth and wasn’t too fussed about going back there anyway. At least out here his reckless attitude could be used for some good.

He did a barrel roll as he dodged enemy fire and ripped through several enemy ships. It was fun. After a few more shots Keith had effectively taken down the guns on one of the battleships.

_“You doing okay there Keith?”_

“Yeah.” Keith was immediately hit and thrown off course. “Okay, first hit! You need any help?”

_“No, I’m good. You need help taking down that ship?”_

“No I’m good.” Keith quickly dodged and weaved around the gunfire. “I’m going to take this one down and then I’ll head over to you.”

_“Okay… You have some people on your tail. I’m coming around.”_

There was a series of explosions behind him. Shiro was pretty good at watching his back. “Thanks Shiro.”

The two of them managed to take down two of the three battleships before they headed over towards the ship that Hunk, Pidge, and Lance were on. When they got close to the ship it suddenly exploded. 

The explosion was huge and the shockwave completely disabled every remaining Galra ship and knocked out the lion’s communications for a few seconds. Pidge quickly got everything back online and their lion’s were functioning again. Keith groaned and hit the control panel a few times to try and get it to work again. After the second hit everything lit up again and communications were back on line.

Shiro was the first one to speak. _“Is everyone alright? What happened?”_

_“We’re fine.”_ Said Hunk. _“We got separated from Lance before things blew up.”_

_“I should have done a remote detonation instead of a timer.”_ Muttered Pidge.

Keith frowned a little when he heard that. “Wait, you guys got seperated? Was Lance still on the ship when it blew up?!”

There was an awkward silence before the sound of Pidge and Hunk frantically hitting buttons filled Keith’s ears. _“Lance? Are you there?”_

_“Come in buddy! This isn’t funny Lance! Pick up!”_

_“I got a signal!”_ Said Pidge. _“Shiro, I’m sending you the coordinates! He’s closest to you! He’s not responding we need to get him back to a healing pod asap!”_

_“Got it. I’ll meet you guys back at the ship.”_

Keith had a sinking feeling in his gut but returned to the castleship with the others. They stood around the hanger and waited for Shiro to come back to the ship with Lance. They waited… And waited… And waited some more. Everyone’s anxiety was quickly building the longer Shiro took.

Keith was starting to pace. That horrible sinking feeling was starting to get worse and worse. What if Lance was dying and Shiro was trying to save him? What if they couldn’t get him to a healing pod in time? What if he was… No. That wasn’t possible. He shouldn’t think about that stuff.

“What’s taking so long?” Asked Hunk. “You don’t think that something…”

“Shiro would have called us if that were the case.” Said Pidge.

“Right.” Said Coran. “Number one knows what he is doing. Besides, I have a healing pod all set and ready to go when they arrive.”

Suddenly the Black lion appeared and landed. But Shiro didn’t come out. Black didn’t lower her head and let Shiro out. She just sat there, still and motionless. Everyone was starting to freak out.

“Shiro!” Called Allura. “Let us in! We need to get Lance to a healing pod! Shiro! I’m ordering you to open up now!”

It took a few minutes before Black lowered her head and Shiro stepped out. He looked visibly shaken and like he had seen something horrific. He was shaking so badly it looked like he was going to fall over.

Allura stepped forward a little and walked over to him. “Shiro? Where is Lance?”

“Lance… He… He’s…”

***

Before Keith could finish that memory his communicator dinged. Allura wanted them all on the bridge now. He sighed a little and got up, straightening out his shirt. “I have to go now… I’ll see you later.”

Lance sighed and waved him off. “Go on, go. The Princess needs you… You know, I kind of find it funny.”

“What?”

“I told you I always wanted my brain downloaded into a giant ship and now that it is… It’s kind of sad.”

“... I know. Pidge did their best to reconstruct your memories and personality from vlogs and security footage.” Muttered Keith. “I-I’m so sorry…”

“Hey none of that.” Said Lance. “Keith, it has been two years. I know I’m just an AI and stuff, but I know that the real Lance would have forgiven you already. You don’t need to feel guilty anymore.”

Keith looked over at Lance again. He was smiling at him like nothing was wrong, and he looked perfect. A sixteen year old kid that hadn’t seen the horrors of the past two years as his AI had been restricted to the castle and more specifically this room. 

“See you tomorrow Lance.”

“See you tomorrow Keith.”


	2. First contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get more angst, and you get more angst. Everyone gets more angst! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

When Keith got to the bridge everyone else was already there. He gave a quick nod of acknowledgement to Shiro before Allura started her presentation. “Good you’re all here. Now we’re about to land on the planet Dotra. In all honesty there isn’t too much we know about the planet due to the constant storms that cover the planet’s surface.”

“That’s correct Princess.” Said Coran. “Dotra is a planet surrounded by an electromagnetic storm, at least in the uppermost layers of the atmosphere. They pretty much don’t have much in the way of space exploration or much communication off world, but they are relatively friendly to outsiders… Most of the time. At least they were 10,000 years ago…”

“My father made contact with them.” Said Allura calmly. “I’m sure if we make contact with the current ruler we’ll be able to come to some sort of agreement.” One of the monitors started beeping. “Ah, we’ve finally made contact.”

The screen flicked on showing what appeared to be an alien woman. Her skin was a kind of yellowish green and her eyes were a bright orange. She had tusks jutting up out of her lower lip, and it was difficult to tell if she was wearing an elaborate crown or if it was part of her body.

_“I am Empress Amyg-Dala. Ruler of the Nulites. It has been a long time since anyone made contact with us… without crashing into our planet’s surface of course and for that we are thankful. To whom am I speaking with?”_

“Thank you for taking our call.” Said Allura. “I am Princess Allura of Altea. We are the Paladins of Voltron and would like to request for you to join the Voltron coalition. May we have permission to land and discuss terms?”

The Empress thought for a moment. _“Voltron… That name rings familiar to a degree… I believe my ancestor spoke with a king Alfor about a Voltron…”_

“That would have been my father… Before the war.”

_“What war?”_

Allura was shocked. “The war… Against the Galra empire… Surely you must know of the war raging across the galaxy?”

Amyg-Dala shrugged. _“It is unfortunate, but due to the atmosphere of Dotra we are cut off from most communications. I am sorry, but we honestly do not know of any war in much detail.”_ The feed started to break up. _“I believe we should talk more face to face. I will send you coordinates. I advise you to bring a small landing ship and weapons. The closest you can safely land is just outside a small village. Our native fauna and flora are not very welcoming.”_

“Thank you Empress.” Said Allura. “We will be there as soon as we are able to find a break in the storm.”

_“Of course. I’ll alert the village chief and get him to organise an entourage to bring you to the capitol. I hope to-”_ The feed cut out after that.

Allura smiled and turned to the rest of the Paladin’s. “Well there you go. When we’ve pinpointed break in the storm we’ll take the Yellow and the Red lions down to the planet’s surface. We’ll have to leave the castle in orbit.”

“What can we expect when we get on the planet?” Asked Shiro. “The Empress did tell us to bring our weapons.”

Coran grinned. “Ah, allow me to fill you in on the Nulite people. They are heavily combat related people. They are actually a lot like the current Galra culture in that matter. If I remember correctly they have very strong sense of right and wrong-”

Keith turned out after that. He’d just stick by Shiro to make sure he didn’t get into trouble. He didn’t like going on these kinds of diplomatic missions. After talking there was always some kind of mandatory party which he hated. Lance was much better at these things. He’d always mingle with the inhabitants and his magnetic personality would draw people to him, but now… Just thinking about that kind of stuff made Keith’s chest feel heavy.

“-And that’s the gist of it.” Said Coran with a twirl of his mustache. “If Pidge’s calculations are correct-”

“Which they are!” Called Pidge.

“-we should find a break in the storm in about roughly five varga’s.” He said. “So get ready to go down at any time.”

Allura nodded in agreement. “Paladin’s dismissed.”

Everyone quickly dispersed and Keith ended up wandering around aimlessly. He didn’t really know what to do. He didn’t feel like training or going back to see the Lance AI. Training drained him physically and the AI drained him emotionally. Eventually Keith ended up finding himself outside the armoury. 

Keith hesitated for a moment before he walked inside. The only Paladin armor left in there was the remnants of the Blue Paladin armor. They scavenged what they could from the wreckage but they couldn’t find it all. They had his cracked helmet, chunks of his breastplate, his belt, a few pieces of his thigh and shin guards, some strips of his black bodysuit, and his bayard. That wasn’t even counting the fingers they had found in a few of his gloves fingers.

Standing in front of Lance’s suit was Hunk. He looked like he was tearing up. “Hunk?”

Hunk looked over at Keith and did his best to stop himself from crying, but it wasn’t really working. “Oh, h-hey there Keith… What are you doing here?”

“Nothing much… Are you okay big guy?”

“Yeah I just… I’m… I…” He rubbed his eyes. “No…” He muttered. “It’s been two years but it still hurts… It hurts so much… Lance was my best friend and every time we do these diplomatic things I just… I keep thinking about how excited he would get. He’d be doing his hair for hours… Trying to make it look just right…”

Keith nodded a little and smiled slightly. “He’d always tell me to do something with my hair…”

“Yeah, he would.” Hunk smiled and quickly dried his eyes. “He was always messing with you… He really liked you, you know? It wasn’t just some stupid rivalry.”

“I know. I saw his vlogs… I can’t believe that he really… A-anyway. If you want to talk to him the AI-”

“It’s not the same.” Said Hunk. “Pidge is good, but the AI can only regurgitate what was already in Lance’s vlogs… It doesn’t come up with any new ideas… I miss him so much.”

“I miss him too.” Said Keith quietly. “Things just haven’t been the same without him…”

“Yeah…” Hunk took a few moments to collect himself. “I’m just… I’m just going to go to the kitchen… Later.”

When Hunk was gone, Keith looked back up at Lance’s wrecked uniform. The blue paladin was no more. Allura became the pink paladin and bonded with Blue out of necessity to form Voltron. In the end everyone just had to move on with their lives, even if doing so just hurt. Out of all of them, Lance was the one that wanted to go home the most.

Keith pulled up his comms pad and brought up one of Lance’s vlogs. He’d made thousands of these and after his death Pidge had archived them all. In the one he pulled up, the Blue Paladin was kind of just relaxing in his pyjamas. He also had one of his stupid facemasks on that he always seemed to love wearing.

_“So… Another classic Lance moment today.”_ He began. _“So in other words, I screwed up… It wasn’t even anything big I just… Hunk and Pidge were talking about some technobabble stuff and I… I tried to join in but…”_ Lance shook his head and just stared off into the distance. _“I wish I was smart like them, but I’m just the goofball… As dumb as a box of rocks… Then again knowing the universe there’s probably a box of rocks out there smarter than me...”_

Lance sighed a little and moved out of view of the camera. Keith could hear water running in the background. A few minutes later Lance walked back into view and readjusted the camera. He was no longer wearing his face mask and his bathrobe was just starting to fall off his shoulder.

_“Let’s see… what else to talk about besides how dumb I am? Oh, Allura shot me down again. I think I annoyed Shiro or at least caught him at a bad time… I always catch him at a bad time… Maybe it’s just me?”_ They tucked some hair behind his ear and just looked depressed. _“I would talk to Coran, but I can’t really talk to him when he goes off on a tangent and Keith… Well, I’m an idiot and Keith hates my guts.”_ Lance laughed nervously and sighed. _“Maybe if I was smarter I’d be able to fit in with everyone better… Well, hopefully on the next planet there will be something to boost my intelligence?”_

The vlog ended there and Keith felt his heart sink. A lot of Lance’s vlogs were like that. Lance would talk a little about his day, which usually included how he thought he was an idiot, how he always seemed to mess up, and how awesome everyone else on the team was. 

He pulled up another vlog, a slightly more cheerful one. This one was a little something with the mice. Platt, the largest yellow mouse was laying flat on his back while Chulatt, the small blue one, was juggling. Plachu and Chuchule were running around Platt and Chulatt.

Lance chuckled a little. _“Like, what are they doing? Seriously? What are you guys doing?”_

That one was a cute one. Keith liked that one. Why? Maybe because Lance was happy for once in his vlogs? He had no idea. He sighed sadly and put it away. He looked back up at Lance’s armor and frowned. He missed Lance so much. Things just weren’t the same without him.

He cycled through a few more vlogs. He eventually settled on one of the earlier ones that was kind of bittersweet in retrospect. Lance was sitting on his bed, looking very annoyed. 

_“So… Keith and I had a bonding moment…”_ He stared off at nothing for a few solid minutes. _“And I kind of denied it ever happened. Claimed amnesia… Now that I’m thinking about it, it was kind of dumb. I mean, we’re a good team and stuff but… Keith is my rival. Maybe he’d just see this as a weakness on my part? Out of all the people here I don’t want Keith to use something like that against me… I hope it wasn’t a mistake.”_

***

When Keith got tired of looking at Lance’s vlogs he headed down to the hanger. Pidge was already there. She was messing around with Green. Probably upgrading again. She looked up and nodded at him as he walked over to her.

“Hey Keith.”

“Pidge.”

“... So you’ve been logging a lot more hours on the holodeck lately.”

He shrugged. “It’s the anniversary.”

Pidge paused in her movements for a moment. “Yeah, it is… Keith. It’s been two years…”

“So what? You want to forget about him?”

“I never said that.” Snapped Pidge. “What I mean is… Lance wasn’t the kind of person that would want us to go and mourn him indefinitely… That’s why I made the Lance AI in the first place. So we could say our goodbyes… It was meant to go offline months ago.”

“So you just wanted to erase him?”

Pidge glared at him. “Lance was like a second brother to me. We can never erase him. I just don’t think it’s healthy to have the Lance AI up and running for this long. Remember when the castle went crazy and Alfor almost convinced Allura to crash the castle into a sun? I don’t want a repeat of that.”

“But that-”

“Do you have any idea how hard this is for Hunk and I?” Growled Pidge. “Lance was with us! He got separated with us! We should have stayed but he convinced us that he could catch up to us! Even if he got caught in the blast he shouldn’t have been completely eviscerated like that… I still can’t believe we only found three of his fingers…”

“... I’m sorry Pidge.” Muttered Keith. “You’re right. After this mission, if everyone else is in agreement you should delete the AI… Keeping it around’s opening more old wounds than it should.”

She nodded a little and looked down at what she was working on. They were quiet in the hanger for what seemed like forever before she started to sniffle.

“Shit, I’m sorry Pidge…” Keith didn’t really know how to deal with this. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She cried into his armor for a few minutes as he just stood there and held her. Keith was never really good with this but he was trying. He was trying really hard. 

They would have stayed hugging if their comms hadn’t gone off with Allura asking everyone to head to the hanger now. Keith and Shiro went in Red while Allura, Hunk and Pidge went in Yellow. They followed the coordinated safely through the atmosphere and landed safely in the predetermined clearing.

The planet of Dotora seemed to be mostly jungle but the colours were neon. With the way the sun was getting filtered through the clouds it was like everything was being bathed in a blacklight. Under the blacklight Pidge was quick to point out that Keith sclera appeared more yellow. He tapped her on the helmet for that. He couldn’t help if his Galra biology was a little weird. But it wasn’t like he was the only odd one. Allura’s markings were glowing bright pink.

Keith surveyed his surroundings while Hunk and Pidge were busy scanning the surrounding area. He wasn’t sure what they were scanning for, but then again he didn’t listen to Coran’s talk about the planet, so he didn’t know. He just stayed by Shiro.

“Okay guys.” Said Shiro. “Stay close. Remember what Coran said about the local wildlife. Weapons out at all times. We don’t want to get caught off guard by anything.”

“Good thinking Shiro.” Said Allura. “Pidge, Hunk, have you two picked up on anything?”

Hunk shook his head. “Not picking up on any big heat signatures or anything like that… But you know, don’t really know how big something has to be to be dangerous around here so...”

“We should be fine.” Said Pidge. “The village is just over the hill. We can either wait around here or start walking.”

“Walking might be the better option.” Said Allura. “As long as we are careful we should be alright. Particle barriers up on the Lions. We need to move.”

So the group of five made their way through the neon jungle. It seemed to be mostly made up of shades of magenta with hints of blue and green. It was interesting. Keith would almost say it was pretty. Almost. He knew Lance would. Lance would probably love this planet. Thinking about Lance made his heart feel heavy.

As they walked through the jungle there were all the usual jungle sounds; animals skittering around, things falling, stuff getting stepped on. Nothing that really set off any alarm bells. Keith did notice some weird looking bio-luminescent flowers and some weird vines that looked like they were covered in hair. Some fallen leaves were stuck to them.

“Weird planet.” Mused Hunk. “Kind of looks like deep sea stuff, but on land. Weird.”

“Yeah.” Said Pidge. “Looks like a lot of things here might have bio-luminescent bacteria in it… I’ll take a sample later and see what Coran makes of it when we get back to the castle.” The group continued to walk along with Pidge occasionally pipe up with how far away from the village they were. 

Suddenly Shiro put his hand up. “Guys, stop.”

“What is it?” Asked Keith.

“Can’t you hear that?”

Everyone went quiet. “I don’t hear anything.” Said Allura.

“Exactly.” Muttered Shiro. “No insects. No animals. No nothing. Just silence… Something isn’t right…”

The sound of a branch snapping instantly caught everyone’s attention. As soon as they looked one way it was apparent it was all misdirection when a huge log came swinging out from the treetops and crashed into Shiro, knocking him into the trunk of a tree. The tree bark exploded and released gallons of thick, magenta sap. It stuck him in place and the more he struggled against it the more fused to it he became.

The team’s attention was immediately on Shiro for a split second, but that was enough time for something covered in neon paint and armor to leap out of the treetops and kick Hunk into a net trap. Hunk was launched into the air and ended up dropping his bayard in the process. Their attacker used the momentum from kicking Hunk to launch themselves back into the safety of the neon foliage.

The remaining three took a fighting stance as they quickly took up arms. “Are you guys okay?” Asked Pidge.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Called Hunk. “I can’t see anything from up here though. These vines are kind of like velcro. I can’t move.”

“Same here.” Said Shiro. “This tree sap is like glue. Keep your guard up who knows what is out there.”

Allura, Keith, and Pidge stood close together as they surveyed the surroundings. They had no idea what was after them or if there was more than one thing. Its heat signature wasn’t showing up anywhere and both Shiro and Hunk were trying very hard to help, but they weren’t much help.

Suddenly Pidge screamed as one of those weird vines covered in strange hair hit her back and pulled her up into the air. She attempted to cut herself out but she quickly came into contact with other vines and became tangled in that mess.

Allura and Keith stood back to back. They needed to figure out what the hell was attacking them and take it out as quickly as possible. Keith grinded his teeth in annoyance. If Lance was here he would have already spotted the threat and shot at them. There were so many missions that Lance would have been an asset to.

“There!” Yelled Allura as she launched her energy whip into a bush. With a hard yank of her whip she pulled the attacker out and slammed them into the ground with force. Noting that no one else was attacking them, the duo got close to them to at least restrain them before they went to save their teammates.

Their attacker’s body seemed to be humanoid and covered in magenta and blue neon paint. They wore armor that seemed to be made from leather and metal. They had strange gauntlets that covered their hands and forearms. Attached to their hips seemed to be some kind of exoskeleton that was made from a series of pistons. They looked like they might have been used to help them jump around so quickly. 

What really caught Keith’s eye though was the mask that seemed to be fused to this alien’s head. It was so striking because it reminded Keith of something akin to a Mouri mask crossed with a Native American totem pole. He wasn’t sure if it was meant to be an actual depiction of a person’s face, an animal, or something imaginative.

Allura crouched down with the intent of tying the attacker’s hands behind his back, but the second she got too close to them, the intruder quickly swung their leg around and flexed their foot. By doing so the pistons in the exoskeleton quickly extended and hit Allura with such force she was sent flying backwards and was knocked out cold.

Keith quickly backed away from them but took a fighting stance. The intruder easily got to his feet. The way they moved and swayed was almost unnatural. It kind of looked like they were drunk. 

He attempted to swing at them, but their movement was too random and fluid. They were stupidly flexible. There was one point during their fight where he swore that the alien bent back so far Keith swore that their head brushed across the ground when they bent backwards to avoid a swing from his sword.

They managed to punch Keith’s wrist, knocking their bayard out of their hand. They then went to punch him, but Keith quickly blocked them. The two of them quickly fell into what felt like a choreographed routine; punch, block, block, punch, block. Keith had to constantly move his legs to avoid them from shattering his knee or leg with their weird exoskeleton legs.

There was just a split second laps in Keith’s concentration and the alien managed to clock Keith hard in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Before Keith could get back up the attacker jumped on his back and quickly hogtied Keith and took his helmet and weapons. They then went about disarming and tying up Allura who was only just starting to regain consciousness.

It took them a little longer to properly capture the other three since they were stuck in relatively high places. They seemed to have the most trouble with Shiro as he was stuck in tree sap. Eventually though they had successfully captured everyone without saying a single word.

Allura, ever the diplomat, quickly found her voice. “I think there has been a grave misunderstanding. The Empress herself has asked us to come to the capitol to speak with her. I’m Princess Allura of Altea. We’re the Paladin’s of Voltron and-”

The attacker had pointed their arm at them and a small gun had popped out of their gauntlet, directed straight at her forehead. It effectively shut her up along with everyone else too. No one really knew what to say or do. 

For the first time, their captor spoke. Their voice sounded gruff and slightly muffled by their mask. “I don’t care.” Their gun buzzed slightly as it started to power up. This person was going to kill them.


	3. Tay-Lor and Zell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get info dumped ya heathens. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

A blast rang out through the jungle and everyone froze in horror. They didn’t shoot Allura in the face, but that was only because another man in a mask appeared. He grabbed hold of the other alien’s gauntlet and directed it upwards. He ended up blasting a branch off a tree.

The second alien, although they were wearing a mask, seemed to be glaring at the other, smaller alien. They seemed more insect-like in appearance with thick carapaces covering their body, and pincers that protruded through the holes in their own mask. They towered over the other by several feet easily. 

“What do you think you are doing?” They growled. 

“Capture and execute?” Said the other, though they sounded like they were posing it as a question rather than a statement.

The taller alien sighed and slapped the smaller on the the back of the head before quickly turning his attention to the Paladins. “Please forgive my apprentice. Tay-Lor is a little trigger happy. Did I hear correctly before when you said that you are princess Allura?”

Allura nodded. “Y-yes.”

Upon hearing that, Tay-Lor got smacked in the back of the head again before they grabbed them by the back of the head and forced them to bow down. The taller did the same. “Please forgive us. The comms in the area has been down for a movement and I wasn’t able to relay to Tay-Lor that we are to escort you and the Paladin’s to the capitol.” They growled lowly to their companion. “You were this close to committing regicide. Granted not our royal family, but still.”

“They could have been lying for all I knew!” Hissed Tay-Lor. “I have memory problems!”

The taller just shook their head and sighed. “Just, untie them and give them back their stuff… You’ve caused enough trouble.”

“... Yes sir.” Tay-Lor quickly went about releasing the Paladin’s while quickly apologising to them over and over again for attacking and trying to kill them.

Once they were freed Allura turned her attention to the tall alien. “Thank you for your assistance. May I ask you for your name?”

“Zell.” Said the insect-like alien. “I’m Zell of Flardners.”

Allura gave him a confused look. “Flardner is over a galaxy away… How did you end up here?”

“We shouldn’t talk here.” Said Zell. “We can talk more comfortably when we’re back at the village. Please, follow me. Tay-Lor, you’re taking the back.”

“Yes sir.” He grumbled in a sarcastic tone.

Zell shook their head. “Oh, by the way your betrothed is waiting for you back at the chief’s home.”

Tay-Lor seemed to visibly deflate when he heard that. “Perfect… Just what I need…”

“Betrothed?” Questioned Pidge.

Zell chuckled as he ducked under a tree branch. “One of the Empress's children has taken a fancy to Tay-Lor and has announced that they are to be married within five deca-phoebs. That was two deca-phoebs ago.”

“I never agreed to marry them…” Grumbled Tay-Lor. “I’m hoping I get taken out by something before they decide we’re getting hitched… I know the Empress isn’t amused by their antics… Heck, I’m surprised she hasn’t sent the royal assassin to murder me yet…”

“That honour is only reserved for Lords and Ladies, and members of the council.” Said Zell. “You’d get assassinated by someone the royal assassin paid to do it. Killing you is beneath them.”

Tay-Lor huffed but stayed silent. Allura engaged in conversation with Zell with everyone else occasionally asking their own questions, but Keith just tuned it all out. He was a little more wary of that Tay-Lor guy. He didn’t like how everyone seemed to just suddenly be all buddy-buddy with them. He was pretty sure that this Tay-Lor guy might turn on them at any second.

The group eventually made it to a road that lead into a village. The nulites that were tending to their crops looked up and either gave a nod towards Zell or a small wave. The nulites were a tall and slender species. They seemed to be about the same height as the Galra. Their most distinguishing features seemed to be there backwards, almost emu-like legs, elongated necks, and patches of bio-luminescent patches that ran from the tops of their heads and down the long flap of skin that kind of looked like hair.

“Your planet is quite lovely.” Said Allura.

Zell shrugged. “Dotra is nice, but it isn’t like my home planet… But my home planet is a barren wasteland now. The Galra saw to that.”

The village was built into the side of a hill with what seemed to be the village’s chief’s house at the top of the hill. 

“Put your weapons away.” Said Tay-Lor. “You’ll just scare the villagers.” Keith didn’t like this, but he did it when Shiro shot him a look. They needed to build some kind of trust with these people

As they walked through the streets they got a few curious looks from the villagers. Especially the children. They seemed to be really interested in what was going on. A couple of children hopped along side them. One of them tugged on Zell’s arm.

“Har Zell! Har Zell! Are they prisoners? Did you catch prisoners?”

Zell shook his head and patted their head. “I didn’t catch any prisoners. These people are guests of the Empress. They are very important.”

One of the kids looked up at Allura and frowned. “Are you soldier’s like Har Zell?”

Allura smiled kindly at them. “We are the Paladins of Voltron. I’m Princess Allura. These are Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, and Keith.”

Her words seemed to fly right over the child’s head. “Cool. Har Zell? Can you come and play with us soon? Please?”

“Hmm, maybe. Why don’t you ask Tay-Lor?”

The children pouted. “Har Tay-Lor’s no fun.”

“I’m right here…” Grumbled Tay-Lor. The children giggled and quickly scattered. Tay-Lor just shook his head. “Damn kids…”

“What’s with the Har?” Asked Pidge. 

Zell shrugged. “It’s how children address adults that are not their parents. You would be Har Pidge, Har Hunk, Har Shiro, Har Allura, and Har Keith. They have a few unique phrases that take a little while to understand. Took Tay-Lor a few phoebs.”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “It happens. You’ll get used to it.”

The group eventually got to the Chief’s house. The Chief was standing there waiting for them. He had some strange hat covered on long feathers on his head and one of his tusks was cracked.

“Ah, Zell, you’re back! And these must be the Voltrons?”

“Paladins of Voltron.” Corrected Allura.

“Yes, of course. Forgive me.” The Chief looked over at Tay-Lor and smirked. “Your betrothed is waiting for you.”

Tay-Lor made a disgruntled noise before they took a few steps back. “Um, I was in the middle of a hunt before all this went down.” He muttered. “I was hunting am um a… A krilla.”

“A krilla?”

“Oh yeah… It um… It was getting close… to the um… the waterway… You know how bad it could be if one of those went and decided to build a dam and… Bye.” They quickly took off down the hill as fast as they could.

“They really don’t like this betrothed person do they?” Asked Hunk.

The Chief chuckled. “It is what it is. Anyway, Tay-Lor will be back for dinner. Now, introductions are in order. I am Chief Kar.” 

Allura quickly introduced everyone to Kar. “We are honoured to be here on Dotra.”

“And we are honoured to have you.” Said Kar. “Please make yourselves at home. If you need anything please let us know and we will try and accommodate you. Dinner isn’t too far away about… forty five doboshes? But I must ask you to please stay within my home and not to wander the village. We neulites… We aren’t exactly used to um… Aliens?”

Pidge nodded. “Space racists.”

Allura and Shiro shot them a look while Kar burst into laughter. “Yeah, pretty much. That’s putting it politely. I just want to make sure that you don’t accidentally do or say something that offends someone. I don’t know how you do it on your planet but we solve most discrepancies via combat.”

“Fascinating…” Muttered Allura. “Quite similar to the Galra…”

Kar seemed to light up when he heard that. “Hey! Zell, they know what the Galra are too! Maybe people will start taking you a little more seriously about how big this war is you’re always going on about.”

The group ended up going into Kar’s home and going into what Keith assumed was the lounge room. A room with a slight dug out pit in the middle of it. The pit was lined with pillows and a few wooden blocks. Kar took a seat and leaned against one of the blocks. He gestured for the Paladins to do the same as Zell made himself comfortable.

Keith didn’t really know what to make of all this. There was definitely a very earthy feel to Kar’s home. Kar’s partner walked into the room with a tray of drinks and seemed to sigh when they saw they needed to make more drinks for everyone there. The drink Keith was given looked unnaturally yellow with flecks of green in it. He tasted it and was surprised to find it was sour, yet refreshing.

“So Zell,” began Shiro. “How did you end up on Dorta? The electromagnetic storm is pretty terrible. Had it quieted down when you came here?” 

Zell chuckled and shook his head. “No. I crashed. After the Glara turned my home planet into a wasteland I became a smuggler. I happened to get engine trouble and I got caught in the planet’s gravity and everything got ripped apart. I almost died, but I somehow managed to escape.” They pressed something on the side of his mask and the lower jaw dematerialised, much like a Marmora mask, and he took a sip of his drink. 

“And you haven’t been able to get off world?” Asked Hunk.

“Unfortunately.” Said Zell. “The nulites haven’t really gotten off the ground, but I’ve found my place here, and so has Tay-Lor.”

“What planet is he from?” Asked Pidge.

Zell shrugged. “He doesn’t talk about it.”

Kar sighed and sipped his drink. “Well, to be fair he did almost die when he hit the ground… Didn’t he have a metal pole in his head?”

“I heard it was glass.” Mused Zell. “Either way, Tay-Lor almost died but they managed to pull through… His memories are pretty scrambled and we don’t know much about his species. He might not ever fully recover, but he could suddenly wake up one day and just remember everything.”

That must have been pretty awful. At least that’s what Keith thought. Not only had Tay-Lor crashed onto an alien planet, but he almost died and was suffering from amnesia. He wondered how much he had forgotten? A few months? A couple of years? He had no idea.

“What species is he?” Asked Keith.

Allura nodded enthusiastically. “If we know what species Tay-Lor is, we can look up his home planet and give him the opportunity to go back there when we leave.”

“He doesn’t know that either.” Said Zell. “He pretty much just had his muscle memory and some other basic memories. He didn’t have to learn how to talk again… Walking was a little wobbly for a while there, but he’s fine now.”

“Is that why he has the exoskeleton?” Asked Pidge.

“Nah, that’s so he can keep up with the rest of us.” Informed Zell. “It’s just to help him jump, but no. Tay-Lor can walk and move around just fine without the exoskeleton.”

Kar’s partner soon called everyone to dinner. Keith was thankful that they were eating at a table and the food looked kind of normal for a human. Kar’s partner sat by Kar and a younger looking nulite had joined them at the table. They had much more elaborate jewelry and fancy looking clothes.

Kar introduced them to their partner and the other mystery guest, who happened to be the child of Empress Amyg-Dala. Apparently they were known as Princess Flos. So this was the one that was insistent on marrying Tay-Lor? She seemed quiet and very reserved. He couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Lance would have lost his mind if a princess was over him. He would have been all over her too. His smile quickly faded though. He missed Lance.

Everyone started drinking and eating some of the small stuff. It didn’t taste too weird. It had only been a few minutes but Tay-Lor eventually came back from wherever he had run off to. As soon as he entered the room Flos’s bio-luminescent markings shon extremely brightly.

“Tay-Lor!” She cooed. “My betrothed! Oh please sit by me. Please? Please? Please?”

Tay-Lor hung his head and sat by her. “Sorry I had things to do…”

“With the Krilla?” Asked Kar.

“Yes. That.” Tay-Lor filled his plate with a thick, transparent, purple gel. He pressed a button on the side of his mask, and much like Zell’s, the lower jaw disappeared so that he could eat and drink without taking off the whole thing. Flos leaned in close to Tay-Lor and made small happy trills as she bumped her arm against his.

“Can I ask a question?” Asked Hunk. “Like, if it isn’t offensive or anything. Like, if it is you can tell me and I won’t bring it up again and-”

“Is it about the masks?” Asked Flos.

“... Yeah.”

She giggled softly and gently ran her fingers across Tay-Lor’s mask’s cheek. Tay-Lor frowned a little but said nothing as he tried to eat his purple gel in peace. “Well in our culture we have three levels of law enforcement. We have; bare face, half masks, and full masks. It’s like a ranking. Bare faces take care of more mundane things such as petty crimes, theft, assault, the occasional murder. Half masks take care of more important matters such as drug trafficking, Nulite trafficking, low level government conspiracies, and then there full masks.” They looked at Tay-Lor with complete and utter adoration and sighed affectionately. “Oh what to say about full masks…”

Zell cleared his throat. “Full masks are like royal guards on other planets. We also protect villages, like this one, from some of the more aggressive wild life. To be fair, we haven’t gone and had to fight off any large creatures lately. Which is good. That means that they have enough food and water where they are right now. No need to attack the farmers.”

“How many full masks to a village?” Asked Shiro. “We wouldn’t want to leave this village unprotected.”

Kar shook his head. “No worries. Zell and Tay-Lor are on rotation and were due to switch out.”

Zell nodded in agreement. “Tay-Lor and I are more than ready and qualified to take you to the capitol. It’s no problem.”

Flos grinned. “And with me with you things will run a lot smoother. One of the many perks of royalty, wouldn’t you agree Allura?”

Allura chuckled. “Ah yes. You do tend to be treated differently when you are born into royalty.”

Kar nodded. “Indeed… now as for sleeping arrangements for the night… We don’t have much in the way of bedding.”

“My betrothed can bunk with me.” Said Flos as she batted her eyelashes. Tay-Lor almost swallowed his spoon and choked.

Zell shook his head. “No princess. I believe your mother would be much more comfortable if perhaps you and Allura shared a room.” He looked around the table. “Um… Anyone else at this table a biological woman?”

Pidge raised her hand. “Well me, but I don’t mind bunking with the boys.”

“It would be better for numbers if you three stayed together.” Said Zell. “You three good with bunking with Tay-Lor and I?”

There was no way Keith was comfortable with this. Tay-Lor tried to kill them. He would have straight up murdered Allura if Zell didn’t yank Tay-Lor’s arm away at the last second. He didn’t even actually seem sorry for trying to kill them. Sure it was all a misunderstanding, but still… He wasn’t sure how he felt about this. Granted they had fought many people that ended up being allies, but Tay-Lor kind of rubbed him the wrong way.

***

Later that night the trio were packed into a smallish room while Zell hunk up a few hammocks. “Sorry, but this is the best we can do for the moment. The castle will have better bedding for you when we get there.”

“It’s fine.” Said Shiro. “We understand that this is all short notice.”

Zell nodded. “I’ll be taking the floor. Due to my size I can’t get comfortable in a hammock. Tay-Lor usually takes a hammock, but if two of you want them then they will be okay with taking the floor.”

Hunk slowly put up his hand. “I um… I’d be okay with taking one of the ha-”

The door suddenly swung open and Tay-Lor walked in. He let out an aggravated sigh, and started to release himself from his exoskeleton legs . Once he was freed from them he fell face first into a hammock without bothering to remove his mask. Which Keith found weird, but didn’t say anything.

Zell just shook his head and looked over at the paladins. “The princess is very… She tends to be very emotionally draining to Tay-Lor.”

“Sush.” Hissed Tay-Lor. “No talking… Sleep now.”

Shiro shrugged. “Lights out then I guess?” The group quickly settled down to sleep, though Keith made sure to sleep with one eye open. He couldn’t help but stay suspicious about all of this. Maybe it was just his Galra instincts kicking in or something? He wasn’t sure. He’d talk to Shiro when they were able to get a moment alone.


	4. Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're on their way to meet the Empress and plot relevant things happen. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

_Thunk_

Keith’s eyes shifted slightly under his eyelids.

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk._

Keith slowly opened his eyes and looked around. It was probably still night time? Everyone was still asleep.

_Thunk._

He groaned a little and rubbed his eyes. Wait… Someone was missing. Tay-Lor wasn’t in his hammock. He was gone and so was that exoskeleton he was wearing. He very carefully got up and quietly made his way out of the room to try and find the source of the thunking noise.

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk._

Keith very carefully made his way to the back of the house. He walked onto a small balcony that overlooked a lower garden. There seemed to be a few training dummies. Furthest away from the house was what appeared to be Tay-Lor. He was kicking a dummy over and over again. He frowned a little at him and wondered what he was doing up right now. Sure, he himself was no stranger to late night training, but he knew why he did it. Why did Tay-Lor train?

“Gorgeous, isn’t he?” Crooned princess Flos as she sat on the banister. Two drinks in hand. These ones were blowing blue and purple. She offered one to Keith, which he took from her. It tasted kind of tangy, but sweet like strawberries.

“Is he okay? Isn’t it kind of late?”

She shrugged. “Tay-Lor has always been like this. He doesn’t like sleeping. Says when he sleeps he wakes up with insufferable migraines. He spent the first phoeb violently vomiting within the first varga of waking up. It was pretty awful…”

“You seem to know a lot about him.”

Flos chuckled. “Of course. The best neurosurgeon on Dorta is also the royal physician. My mother made sure that we all learned skills other than just how to keep the planet running. I chose nursing. I’d been doing it for about two deca-phoebs before he showed up. I practically looked after him until he was deemed well enough to leave.”

“Oh. Okay…” He looked back over at Tay-Lor. It looked like he was kicking the training dummy in a rapid fire way using his exoskeleton to do it. It kind of made him look a little like Chun-Li from street fighter. At least that was Keith’s opinion. He wondered if he could do that spinning helicopter kick. Probably not.

Flos hummed and sipped her drink. “So Keith. It is Keith, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good… What is your species? You don’t look very Altean… Unless Allura only looks they way she does because she is royalty?”

Keith shook his head. “Oh, no. Allura’s the only Altean. The rest of us are human. Well, I’m half human, half Galra, but I grew up as a human.”

“Human…” She uttered, extending the u so it sounded more like an ooo. “So are humans a feared, space faring species? Do you travel across the universe? Are you more diplomatic or antagonistic?”

“My species hasn’t even left our own solar system yet.”

Flos tilted her head and made a confused noise. “Then how did you get here?”

“Long story short? My mother was protecting a giant Altean robot lion that I, Shiro, Hunk, Pidge and Lance found.” Said Keith. “Lance was able to get Blue to fly and we flew through a wormhole to the castle ship where Allura and Coran were in hypersleep for a few thousand deca-phoebs.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “Well… If that’s the short version I’d hate to hear the long version.” She quickly downed the rest of her drink.

Keith nodded and did the same. It fizzed on the way down and Keith ended up belching. “... Um, excuse me.”

Flos looked mildly startled before she started to giggle. “Don’t be sorry. That was actually kind of cute. You small things always do the cutest things.”

“... Thanks? I think?”

“Yeah. So who is Coran?”

“Allura’s advisor. He’s still on the castle ship circling the planet. We couldn’t land it due to the storm.”

“I see… so what about Lance? Is he on the castle ship too?” 

It was an innocent enough question to ask, but Keith couldn’t help but feel sick when he heard it. “He was… Lance died on a mission.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.” Said Flos quietly. There was a rather loud crack and the two looked over at Tay-Lor. He had managed to kick his exoskeleton leg through the training dummy and had gotten stuck. The Princess chuckled and took Keith’s empty glass from him. “He’ll probably go back to bed soon. You should too. There are a few more vargas before morning.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

She nodded and happily walked back inside, leaving Keith to watch Tay-Lor struggle to free his leg. He pulled himself out of his exoskeleton and desperately tried to yank it out. He looked like he was having trouble with it. 

Keith sighed a little and reluctantly headed down to see if he needed any help. He was about halfway across the courtyard when Tay-Lor gave up trying to pull it out and had resorted to trying to cut it out with a knife that popped out of his gauntlet.

Knowing better than to get to close, Keith stayed a few feet back before he spoke up. “You want some help there?”

Tay-Lor quickly looked over at him. Keith wished he wasn’t wearing a mask. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking when he was wearing it. But that was probably the point. Tay-Lor just huffed and went back to trying to free the exoskeleton.

Keith rolled his eyes and took out his knife. He went over and started on the other side. Tay-Lor said nothing and neither did Keith. If Tay-Lor didn’t want to talk, then he didn’t care. After a few minutes they were able to pull the exoskeleton free and Tay-Lor stepped back into it.

“Thanks.” He muttered. “Keith, right?”

“Yeah… What were you doing out here?”

“Training. You?”

“I heard someone kicking a training dummy from our room.”

Tay-Lor seemed surprised. “Really? You heard that?”

“Yeah. My hearing has always been slightly above average. Probably because I’m part Galra.” 

“Galra and Altean?”

“Galra and Human… I prefer to identify as human.”

“I can respect that.” Tay-Lor flexed his legs a few times, changing the exoskeleton’s shape and height from being normal to more of the average height of the neulites. “So um… Sorry for trying to kill you all. It’s kind of a shoot first and ask for forgiveness later situation out there. I just saw a bunch of strange aliens walking around with their weapons out and I reacted.”

“It’s fine. I get it… Kind of… You know, your work with your knife there was kind of shit.”

“Oh really? I didn’t notice.” Said the alien in a sarcastic manner. “I wasn’t going for anything fancy. I was pissed that my leg got stuck again.” They crossed their arms and sighed. “Zell says I should stop training when I’m frustrated. It clouds my vision or something…”

“The mask probably doesn’t help either.”

They chuckled. “Yeah. It does get annoying sometimes, but it’s not like I can take it off now that I’m wearing it.”

“... Why?”

“Tradition.” Said Tay-Lor. “Once you put on the mask you make a vow to the Empress and Dotra as a whole that you will become one part of a greater whole to protect it. To remove your mask is to forgo your oath and become a citizen rather than its protector. There are only five situations where I will allow my mask to be fully removed; if it’s for a medical reason, for my Empress, for my lover, my death, or when I go to Masquerade.”

“Masquerade?”

They shrugged. “If I like you enough I’ll take you there when we get to the capitol. It’s an exclusive bar. I’m a VIP. I’m practically a fixture there when I haven’t been rostered to a village or summoned for work in the castle.”

“Huh… Alright.”

“Yeah…” Tay-Lor shifted from foot to foot a few times. “So, I guess we better go to bed then huh? The Princess would have organised transport to arrive early for us.”

***

The next day they were able to have a quick breakfast where Pidge brought out a small contraption to the table. She explained to the neulites, Zell, and Tay-Lor that this was a sample collector. They used it when they went to planets they didn’t know so they can get a better understanding of what is on the planet.

“Although, it’s going to take a while to get everything logged.” She admitted. “With the storm happening I’m not going to be able to access the castle ship’s main database for a while, so it will be slow… But when we get a break in the storm I can start sending data off.”

“Would you be able to tell what species I am?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“Yeah sure.” Pidge pressed a few buttons on her gadget and a stick with a little scraper popped out of the side. She handed it over to him. “Rub this on your tongue and the inside of your cheek.” When he was done he handed it back to her. She put the stick back into her gadget. “Okay, might take a quintant or two but we can figure it out for you.”

“You really don’t remember what planet you’re from?” Asked Hunk.

Tay-Lor shook his head. “Unfortunately no. Pretty much when I woke up I lost everything. Heck, everyone called me Alien for the first few phoebs… I only took on the name Tay-Lor because it sounded right to me… Something familiar...”

Before they could delve any deeper into what he was talking about Kar announced that their transportation had arrived. Two carts were outside. One looked a lot fancier than the other. The fancier one was smaller than the other one that was a lot larger and had a flat roof. They were both getting pulled by strange six legged beasts that looked a little like a very grumpy looking tapir with a zebra pattern.

Flos attempted to get Tay-Lor into the fancier looking carriage with her, but Zell quickly put a stop to that and suggested it would be more appropriate if Allura rode with her. Since she was royalty too. There were a few more seats in the smaller carriage. Allura asked that Pidge travel with them since they had some bonding time last night, apparently.

So they climbed into the larger carriage, except for Zell. Zell climbed onto the roof. The carriages lurched forwards and they slowly started to move forward. Tay-Lor stayed quiet as he settled himself in one of the corners.

Shiro cleared his throat out a little. “So, Tay-Lor, is there anything we really need to know about the neulite royal court?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “When you get there try and keep your heads low. Don’t look directly at the Empress unless she is addressing you. Try not to contradict her unless you have evidence to back it up. She has a very, very bad temper when it comes to a few subjects… You probably won’t stumble on any of them so you won’t need to worry about that. Just keep your head low and your mouth shut and you will be fine.”

“Guessing you learned the hard way.” Said Hunk.

Tay-Lor chuckled slightly. “Yeah… She was annoyed, but gave me some leeway since I had a metal spike pulled out of my head a movement earlier. I was still slurring my words… I guess I’m just lucky that their medicine is pretty damn advanced. I’d probably be dead on any other planet.”

“So you really don’t remember anything?” Asked Hunk. 

“Not a damn thing.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “Not through lack of trying but I… I don’t think I’ll get all my memories back… I kind of gave up on figuring out who I am a deca-phoeb ago. But it would be nice to get information on my species.”

“But what if you have a family?” Asked Hunk. “If you have a family don’t you think they would want to find you?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I doubt it. When I crashed into the planet I was surrounded by stuff that Zell identified as Galra ship parts. The working theory, according to Zell, is that I was taken as a prisoner by the Galra and taken to their gladiatorial arenas to fight for my life.”

“How did he come up with that?” Asked Shiro.

“Because I have some battle scars and when I’m fighting I slip into some kind of zone.” Admitted Tay-Lor. “It’s like a muscle reflex. I don’t even have to think about fighting, I just fight.”

There heavy tension seemed to fill the carriage. Keith couldn’t help but glance over at Shiro. He hardly talked about his time in Galra captivity as their “Champion”. He looked like he wanted to say something to Tay-Lor but didn’t quite know what to say.

“I was captured by the Galra too.” He finally said. “They made me fight in their arenas. They called me the champion.”

Tay-Lor tilted their head slightly as they absorbed this information. “Do you think we might have met before?”

“Maybe… I’m not sure. I don’t remember a lot from that time.”

“Oh… That’s a shame.” Tay-Lor leaned back and looked up at the roof. “Well, at least you got out and didn’t go splat into a planet.”

“Eh, he kind of did.” Said Hunk. “But he was more in an escape pod kind of thing rather than just falling out of the sky… And minus the getting his head impaled on something.”

“Fair enough… So what is this Voltron thing anyway?” Asked Tay-Lor. “What’s your story?”

The next hour was spent with Hunk explaining the very start of the war with the Galra, how Zarkon betrayed Alfor and destroyed Altea. How Allura and Coran escaped in the castle ship and were asleep for 10,000 years. How Krolia was part of a rebel group of Galra’s trying to end Zarkon and how she found the Blue lion on earth. How Shiro, Matt, and Sam were abducted on the Kerberos mission. How Keith and Pidge would stop at nothing to find their families. 

“Wow… That’s rough.” Said Tay-Lor. “I can’t believe they would cover everything up like that… Did you really punch your superior in the face?”

“He deserved it.” Said Keith. He felt Shiro glaring at him. “... I had some anger issues and problems with authority when I was younger.”

“And you’re going to apologize for that when we get back to earth.” Said Shiro. “Right Keith?”

“...”

“Keith?”

“Yes…”

Hunk then continued on with how he, Lance, and Pidge happened to be out that fateful night and saw Shiro’s ship crash down. They went to investigate and with Keith’s help they all escaped back to Keith’s shack out in the desert. They then found the Blue Lion and Lance drove it through a wormhole where they found the castle ship and woke up Allura and Coran. The rest was history.

Tay-Lor nodded slowly as he absorbed this new information. “Where’s Lance?”

Hunk went quiet and so did Keith. Neither of them were comfortable with talking about Lance to other people beyond mentioning that he was the Blue paladin and he played an important part in starting Voltron. Hell, if it wasn’t for Lance then they never would have been able to start Voltron in the first place. Without Lance there was no Voltron. Not really.

Shiro was the one to answer him. “Lance is… He’s no longer around. A mission went bad and he died.”

“Oh… My condolences. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories about your fallen comrade and friend.”

“It’s okay.” Said Shiro. “We just… We don’t really talk that much about him.”

There was a sudden knock on the roof and a small hatch opened up. Zell poked his head in. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re going to make a quick stop. Once we get onto the main highway it’s no stopping until we get to the capitol.

“Good.” Said Tay-Lor. “I need to pee.”

***

They eventually got to the capitol and Keith had to say he was kind of impressed. The shapes of the buildings looked organic with more curves and less angular structures. The buildings were glowing green, yellow and blue. It kind of looked like a mix between a rave and a futuristic city. Keith kind of liked it.

“Oh wow.” Said Hunk. “The capitol is beautiful… So like do you have a place here or do you just kind of rotate to different villages?”

“I have my own place.” Said Tay-Lor. “It’s small, but I like it. It’s mine… Though if I can’t make it home for whatever reason there are a few barracks I can go to for a quick power nap.”

They eventually got to the palace. It looked rather impressive with extremely tall spiers and soft bio-luminescent lights. It was breathtaking. There was already a party of people waiting for them. Keith recognised the Empress. It looked like that thing he wasn’t sure was a crown or not turned out that he was part of her head. It was interesting.

Tay-Lor opened the door and climbed out stretching a little. Zell climbed off the roof and gestured for Tay-Lor to follow him. Keith wasn’t really sure what to do, so he hung back with Shiro and Hunk. Princess Flos, Princess Allura, and Pidge got out of their carriage. Pidge quickly went over to them and explained what Flos had told them about how they are going to be introduced to the Empress. They didn’t have to say anything they just had to nod in acknowledgement when they were addressed.

They walked behind Princess Allura and stopped when she stopped. Zell and Tay-Lor kneeled before her and Zell spoke in a calm but authoritative voice. “My Empress Amyg-Dala, I Zell, and Tay-Lor, have escorted Princess Allura of Altea and the Paladins of Voltron to your palace as you have requested. We have also returned Princess Flos, whom we met at chief Kas home.”

The Empress shot Flos an annoyed look before shaking her head. “We will speak of this later, Flos.” She directed her attention back to Zell and Tay-Lor. “Thank you for your service. You are dismissed.” 

The two rose to their feet, bowed, and left through a small side gate through a small side path where some other guards were standing. Keith was surprised that they were just leaving. He wondered if they would see them again, but he wasn’t too sure.

“It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Princess Allura.” Said the Empress. “Would you please introduce me to the people you have brought with you?”

Allura nodded. “It is a pleasure to meet you too. These are the Paladins of Voltron. Shiro, the Black Paladin. Keith, the Red Paladin. Pidge, the Green Paladin. Hunk, the Yellow Paladin… I am also known as the Pink Paladin.”

The Empress nodded. “I see… I would like to request for you all to join me for lunch. Once we have eaten we can discuss what you wish to speak of, and Flos?”

“Yes mother?”

“You’re joining us too. You are not allowed to wander off and chase Tay-Lor again.”

“... Yes mother…”

“Good.” With a sharp turn the Empress walked towards the palace doors with everyone quickly following her. This was going to be interesting.


	5. Training hall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith basically just learns more about the neulites and their fighting... and things happen with Tay-Lor... Possibly feeling things. Things he doesn't want to talk about. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The feast spread out before them in the Empress’s dining room was pretty elaborate, like it usually was on most planets; platters pilled with hard shelled creatures, multicoloured globs of jelly in large bowls, brightly coloured fruit stuff, logs of orange meat thinly sliced on a platter, and a whole manner of other things. Keith was just thankful that they had similar cutlery to the cutlery that they had on earth. Every culture seemed to need something to stab and cut things, or at least things that can quickly and easily pick things up.

Keith cautiously took some of the orange meat stuff and a multicolored glob. Alien food was weird. The meat kind of tasted like it had been soaked and glazed in fruit juice while the glob kind of tasted like sweet corn. It was weird, but he could deal with it. It was better than food goo. Anything was better than food goo.

There was some friendly banter between Allura and the Empress. They talked a little about Dotra and what happened between Alfor and the Empress’s ancestors in the first place. It was actually quite interesting to hear about.

“-and so that’s was why my father sort out the help of the neulites in the creation of Voltron.” Said Allura calmly.

The Empress nodded. “Yes. I believe the story goes that he thought he could use nuleum as a possible energy source. When we told him we would not hand over any nuleum he was respectful and left without trying to take any. We have great respect for Alfor and for all Alteans… I hope you are not going to ask for any nuleum?” As she asked this the bio-luminescent patches on her skin started to burn red.

“Of course not.” Said Allura quickly. That seemed to calm her down significantly and the patches on her skin went back to a more normal bluish-green.

“I do have a question though-” said Shiro quickly. “-if you wouldn’t mind me asking that is you majesty.” The Empress frowned a little but waved her hand in a gesture to let him know he may continue. “A few deca-phoebs ago we came across a Galra warship that was using a nuleum crystal to power a weapon. Do you know how it could have gotten into their hands?”

The Empress thought for a moment. “Occasionally we do get smugglers. Scum that would trade a sacred resource for scraps of technology… Smuggling nuleum is considered a crime on par with treason and is quickly stamped out.”

Keith wasn’t sure why nuleum was supposedly sacred to these people, but who was he to question it? He had been to planets where giant monsters that ate villagers were treated like gods. He just got himself a few more slices of orange meat and ate that.

Flos sighed and pushed her plate away. “Well I’m super full… Sooooo full I can’t eat another-”

“When you’re done eating you are going to be working with Ray in his clinic.” Said the Empress calmly. “I asked him to put you on cleaning duty. You are not going to run off to find Tay-Lor.”

“... I think I can eat some more…” She grumbled as she quickly put more food on her plate and started to eat. Clearly cleaning was not something she wanted to do.

Suddenly the doors to the hall opened up and an odd looking man quickly walked in. He looked like he might have been a doctor or something. Either way he grabbed a plate and quickly started piling food onto it while muttering to himself. No one was stopping him. The Paladin’s didn’t know what to do, but the Empress looked extremely annoyed.

“Ray…” She growled.

He looked up at her just as he was about to stuff his mouth with one of those weird crustaceans. He seemed confused. “Hmm? Oh, right, right…” They quickly cleared their throat and bowed. “Um… Good afternoon. Praise the goddess for the food. My work is going well. Anything else?”

She looked at him like he was stupid. “Guests.” She hissed. “We have guests. Off world guests. You idiot.”

They quickly looked around the table and jumped a little in shock when he noticed the Paladins. “Oh! When did you get here?”

The Empress sighed heavily while Flos chuckled. “Everyone… This is Ray. He is the Royal physician and best neurosurgeon on Dotra.” 

“Also your ex-concubine.” Pipped up Ray.

Keith almost choked on his food and so did almost every other Paladin. Flos just giggled while the Empress looked like she was about to smash his face in.

“Ray…”

“Yes?”

“Get the fuck out of my dining room.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” He walked out of the room with his plate of food. “If you need me I’ll be in my clinic. Come see me when you’re done Flos. I have beakers for you to clean.”

The Empress grumbled a little and shook her head. “And that moron wonders why I kicked him to the curb… Anyway, Princess Allura, I would like to discuss more of these matters you’ve brought up in the parlour. Your Paladins are free to wander the castle grounds and go wherever they please. Though if you come across any door that is guarded, please don’t enter those rooms. We are still in the middle of getting your rooms ready and one of my attendants will find you.”

The Paladin’s quickly finished their food and they went about exploring the castle. Though Shiro stayed with Allura since, after her, he was arguably the most diplomatic plus he was the leader of Voltron.

Keith noted that there were plenty of other full masked people walking around. They might have been staring at them but Keith couldn’t tell. Though he couldn’t blame them since they weren’t used to aliens walking around their planet. Pidge might have been right about the space racist thing.

Pidge and Hunk got kind of excited when they happened to pass a window that seemed to be Ray’s clinic. Pidge knocked on the window to get his attention, and the neulite was more than thrilled to have someone else interested in his work.

“I’m actually looking at how to make better prosthetics.” He said. “But mapping out the brain is so difficult and I can’t tell if it’s a matter of the software or the hardware.”

“Hunk and I can have a look at it if you like.” Said Pidge. “Maybe a few fresh minds looking at it will help?”

Ray made a happy trilling sound and happily ushered the two Paladin’s in. He did look over at Keith almost expectantly. “Are you also interested in this kind of work?”

“Um, not really…” Admitted Keith.

“Keith’s more about fighting.” Said Pidge as she looked at some charts on the wall.

Hearing that made Ray’s eyes light up. “Oh, training halls on the ground floor. It’s this building that’s separated from the rest of the palace. Easy to find. Lots of shouting, things getting thrown, unconscious people getting dragged to their own private infirmary… I swear if it wasn’t for those idiots I’d be out of a job. The morons keep trying to smash each other’s skulls in with anything they can find!”

“Okay. Thank you.”

So Keith was left alone to wander down and find their training hall. Even if he wasn’t allowed to do anything he was at least interested to see how they fought. It was easy enough to find the training hall. He followed the sounds of shouting and things hitting hard surfaces. He got to a tunnel where a few of the full masked people bandaging their limbs or loitering around. They gave Keith a few odd looks but shrugged it off as the aliens that the Empress had mentioned were visiting, or said Zell or Tay-Lor had talked about them.

He ended up walking into the training hall and stood by a wall as he watched as people beat the shit out of each other. Their fighting style seemed to involve a lot of kicking and flexibility. They seemed to be constantly moving, even if it was just a slight sway they had to have some kind of movement. 

He watched a group of them in one corner of the hall kicking training dummies in synchronization. They didn’t have masks on so Keith assumed they were the bare face class that Princess Flos had told them about the previous night. They seemed to be doing some training under the watchful eye of someone in a full mask. It was impressive watching them go from high kicks to scissor kicks like it was nothing.

There were a few people in half masks doing hand to hand combat. It seemed a little more freeformed than the steady synchronization of the bare faced people. It was a lot easier for him to see how Tay-Lor got his fighting style. He still thought that kind of looked like they were drunk.

A flash of light caught Keith’s eye as he saw two full masks getting ready to spar. Their masks were glowing purple and green respectively. There seemed to be a strange energy surrounding them as they took a fighting stance. Then the first punch got thrown. It didn’t even make contact, but they were still able to hit their opponent with what looked like some kind of energy punch. 

It was like something out of an anime. It had been years since he’d seen an anime. They were probably channeling some kind of weird energy or maybe it was just something that any nulite could do? He wasn’t sure. But it kind of made them look like a population of weird anime protagonists. Almost as if to confirm this statement, the one whose mask was purple suddenly seemed to manifest some kind of weird snake looking thing.

The best way he could describe it was like when he was connecting with Red in the astral plane. Sometimes he could just feel her presence there behind him. A semi-physical manifestation of Red that seemed to exist just for him. But this was out of that weird astral space between the lions. This was out in the open where everyone could see.

The snake thing suddenly rushed forward and sent the other neulite across the training hall and straight into the half masks that were training. The half masks promptly beat the shit out of thems with sticks for interrupting their training session.

Keith had no idea what he just saw. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zell walking over to him with a training sword. “Hey. How was lunch with the Empress?”

“It was… Interesting.” Admitted Keith. “So what was that thing? The thing with the masks and the snake thing?”

“Spirit projection.” Said Zell. “It’s a technique only a full mask can master. Without the ability to spirit project no one can become a full mask.” He tilted his head in an almost thoughtful manner. “My spirit projection is of the mighty polapola. It’s a kind of bird on my home planet. Feathered, strong, powerful legs, armour plated skull… It’s like getting thrown into a brick wall.”

“I see… So is it hard to do? The Spirit projection?”

“You need to get very high on some hallucinogens.” Said Zell. “It is… It’s an experience. An experience that honestly, no one really wants to go through that again… It can be pretty awful.” 

“I see… How long does training to go from bare face to a full mask?”

Zell shrugged and looked out across the training hall. “Many deca-phoebs. You’re bare faced for three, half mask for four, and then you’re a full mask. You can stay longer as a bare face or half mask depending on where you want to go in life.”

“I see… Didn’t you say that Tay-Lor’s only been here for like two deca-phoebs? How did he become a full mask so quickly?”

“Special circumstances.” Said Zell. “Once Ray helped Tay-Lor with his exoskeleton he excelled much faster than any bare face before him. It seems like he had some kind of military training in his past. It was agreed that he should be placed with the half masks immediately after a quick review of his performance… Then with a bit of fine tuning and some review he was recommended to be a full mask.”

“Bet that pissed off a lot of people.”

Zell burst into laughter and slapped Keith’s back. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Why do you think the only other alien in the whole place took him under their wing? Yeah, a lot of people hate Tay-Lor. He’s an alien, Princess Flos is hellbent on marrying him, he is good at fighting, and he’s performed the killing blow on several dangerous beasts.”

“I see… Where is he anyway?”

Zell gestured over to the far side of the training hall. “Tay-Lor is practicing his swordsmanship. Short range combat isn’t his forte. He prefers long range. He’s an excellent marksman. Has a 99% kill rate with any firearm we give him... You any good with a sword?”

Keith couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Yeah. I’m kind of the sword guy of the group.”

“Good...” Zell tilted his head as he seemed to be in deep thought about something. “Come with me.”

Keith followed Zell to the other side of the training hall. He immediately saw Tay-Lor standing off in a corner while practicing striking a training dummy with a practice sword. He seemed a little stiff with his movement and slightly unsure how to move his legs. It was interesting. He did have potential, but he was a little off.

“Tay-Lor, look who I found.” He lightly pushed Keith forward.

Tay-Lor lowered his training sword and nodded. “Hey Keith. How was lunch with the Empress?”

“It was okay. Your stance is off.”

“Excuse me?” They sounded mildly offended.

Keith rolled his eyes as Zell passed him the training sword he was carrying. It took a moment for Keith to feel the balance of the wooden sword. It was a little different from his bayard or his Mamora blade. He took a stance and gentured for Tay-Lor to do the same.

“Keep your stance wide.” Instructed Keith. “Keep your body lowered.”

“...” Despite Tay-Lor wearing a mask he could tell they were rolling his eyes at him. He still did what Keith asked though. “Like this?”

“... You’re too stiff. You need to loosen up a little. Just relax.”

“I am relaxed.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “You were more relaxed when you were jumping around trying to murder us.”

“Well that was different. I’m not jumping around and trying to keep an eye on everything.” Muttered Tay-Lor.

“Well you have to loosen up.” Said Keith. While Tay-Lor was trying to loosen up, Keith quickly slapped him in the leg with the training sword.

Tay-Lor jumped in surprise. “Hey!”

“Loosen up.” Said Keith. “Right foot. Left foot.” He quickly swiped at the alien’s feet, making him quickly move. “Now you have to keep your eyes on your feet while you have to deflect me and try to hit me.”

Tay-Lor huffed a little and quickly moved to parry an attack. He only just did it but there was potential. There was so much potential there. Tay-Lor knew what he was doing, but his body had just not caught up with everything yet. Though the more they moved around the more they seemed to loosen up and became better.

“Not too bad there.” Said Keith. “However…” They quickly moved as if to jab them, so Tay-Lor tried to side step and counter with a parry, but Keith expected this and quickly swept Tay-Lor’s legs out from under him and knocked him onto the ground. From there he put his foot on Tay-Lor’s chest and pointed his sword at his face. “You still need to watch your feet Sharpshooter.”

Tay-Lor seemed to be stunned for a moment as they stared up at Keith. Well he assumed he was staring. He really doubted that he was able to knock Keith out that quickly or easily. That seemed kind of crazy if that was the case.

“You okay there?” He asked as he moved his foot off him. “Tay-Lor?”

“I… I’m fine.” They said quickly as they stood back up. “Sometimes when I get knocked down I get stunned for a few seconds… No big deal.”

Zell grunted in annoyance. “That isn’t good Tay-Lor. You should tell Ray something is wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong!” Snapped Tay-Lor. “You know how I get when I suddenly hit the ground! I can’t help it if I freeze up for a few seconds!”

“Well when you freeze up that usually means that you re-”

“Shut it!” Snapped Tay-Lor. He was clenching his fists and looked tense. “Just… I am not dealing with any more of that bullshit remember? I’ve given up on that!” They glared down at the training sword in their hands for a few seconds before throwing it to the ground and storming out of the training hall.

Keith was a little taken aback by the whole conversation. “Um… Is that-?”

“Normal?” Asked Zell. “Unfortunately yes.” He picked up the training sword and shook his head. “Sometimes something will happen and it will trigger a memory. He used to get excited when that happened but now… He’s really bitter about it because he’s dead certain he’s never going home and if he’s never going home he doesn’t want to remember the people that he’s never going to see again.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. Better to live life here as a clean slate than live here and remember what you can never have again.” Muttered Zell. “... Anyway, you must have triggered some big memory for him. He’s probably going to go back to his home and sulk for a bit… Probably for the best. Too early for Masquerade to be open anyway…” He seemed to pause when he voiced that and made an annoyed noise. “I am going to break his legs if I get a call because he’s passed out there again…”

“Okay?” Keith was more confused than ever. “Um… I’m going to go now… Um… Here…” He passed Zell the training sword. “Not sure where this goes…”

“It’s fine. Off you go.”

Keith nodded and quickly left the same way he came. He wondered what kind of memory he triggered? Considering the theory that he was a Galran Gladiatorial arena, maybe he had a flashback? He knew how shaken up Shiro usually got when he experienced those.

He felt bad about this, but he was quickly pulled out of this when one of the Empress’s attendants approached him. “Red Paladin, Keith?” The asked.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

They quickly bowed. “Please follow me. Your room is ready.”

***

They took Keith to a room. “Directly across from you is the room of Princess Allura.” They said. “To the right of your room is Yellow Paladin, Hunk’s room. To the left is Green Paladin, Pidge’s room. Black Paladin, Shiro’s room is to the right of Princess Allura’s.” They opened the door to Keith’s room and gave a short bow to them. “If there is anything else you need please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks.” Keith walked into the room and the attendant closed the door behind them. The room was spacious with a bed that was so big he was pretty sure everyone on team Voltron could sleep on it comfortably without kicking anyone else in the face. The view was also pretty damn amazing. Though the whole planet still looked like it looked like a rave. Pretty, but he was pretty sure that his eyes were going to start burning if he stared at it for too long.

He flopped down onto the bed, noting that it was firmer than a water bed, but softer than a mattress. Lance would have lost his mind at how amazing this was. He would have whined and begged Allura to get these mattresses on the castle ship.

“...” Keith took out his comms pad and checked to see if they had a connection to the castle ship’s database. They weren’t. However Keith did have some things downloaded to his comms pad. He pulled up one of Lance’s vlogs.

In this one, Lance was having a bit of a _“personal day”_ as he called it. It was basically just Lance doing the whole face mask thing and painting his nails. Something he would usually do on days where he seemed the most stressed. He usually vented in vlogs like this and today was no different.

Lance had a pink face mask on as he painted his nails. _“So long story short, no one but Allura appreciates skin care on this ship.”_ He ranted. _“We go to some windy planet and we all got horribly chapped lips. Like, I spoke and my lips ripped open. Pidge couldn’t even open her mouth to put a spoon a food goo in their mouth. I, being the cool guy I am, go into my personal supply of lip balms. Hunk, the sweetheart was always appreciative of it. Pidge was reluctant, but was cool with it since it soothed their lips too.”_

They sighed dramatically and paused for a moment to blow in their nails. From what Keith could tell they were the same coloured blue as the Blue Lion. It really suited Lance. Any blue suited Lance. It made his heart drop a little thinking about how Lance and blue… He was doomed to always associate the colour blue with Lance.

Said blue Paladin sighed and started on his other hand. _“So, I managed to find Shiro… Fuck I was so nervous talking to him… Like come on Lance, you’ve looked up to Shiro for years. He’s your hero, one of the reasons you wanted to join the Garrison and be a pilot… I shouldn’t be nervous around him but I… I think he appreciated it? Maybe… Probably not… But he did smile and take it… Unlike Keith. He tossed it in the trash in the locker room.”_

Keith felt bad about that. Lance had given it to him earlier that day. He’d tossed it down somewhere in the locker room with all his other stuff and immediately lost it before he got a chance to use it. He was too embarrassed to admit to Lance that he lost it and was wondering if he had any more. He put up with bloodied and chapped lips for over a month.

 _“If he didn’t want it he should have just told me. I could have given more to everyone else… He didn’t even use it once. I know. I opened it and checked… I guess skin care is unmanly to him or something.”_ Lance finished painting his other hand and blew on his nails.. _“... I’m probably the least manly guy here. Hell, Allura and Pidge are manlier than I am… I…. Is it bad that I like doing more femanine things? Maybe that’s why people don’t take me seriously…”_ Lance seemed to have an epiphany. _“Wow… Not only am I the team goofball I’m like a mid 2000’s gay stereotype, and I’m not even gay… I like girls too…”_

Keith always felt terrible when he heard that. For a few years when he was figuring out his own sexuality he didn’t really think he was gay because he wasn’t like the stereotypes. He wasn’t into fashion, or calling everyone bitch, honey, or sister. He liked knives, motorcycles and liked going to the gym purley to improve himself, not to oggle the people there. 

It wasn’t until he met Shiro and found out that this man, the person he looked up to, the guy that looked like the poster child for hetrosexuality, was gay did Keith realise that he didn’t have to fit the stereotype to be gay. It hurt for Keith to think that Lance associated being femanine or liking female things as being weak. He was pretty sure Allura would kick his ass if he called her weak. She was the strongest woman he knew.

Lance drummed his fingers against his knees. He looked like he was thinking over what he just said. _“I’m still manly…”_ He muttered. _“Just because Keith doesn’t have to do anything more than wash his face to look good doesn’t mean I’m weak…”_ He looked down at his nails with a mix of sadness and disgust. _“What man paints his nails? Oh, I know, a fa-”_

“Keith!” Pidge suddenly burst through the door and jumped onto his bed. Keith quickly turned his comms pad off and gave her a confused look. 

“The fuck Pidge?”

“We were connected to the castle ship for five doboshes!” She said with a grin. “Allura and the Empress got to talk to Coran and I started uploading the data I collected. Got the first three things done before it all cut out. Pretty awesome, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool… Where’s Hunk?”

“Chilling in his room. Oh, by the way we have to attend some dinner party thing tonight.”

“A dinner party?”

“Yeah…” She frowned and flopped down on the mattress. “... He would have loved this planet you know? Just for the aesthetic.”

“Yeah, he really would have.”

“Probably would have tried to compete with Tay-Lor for Princess Flos.”

“He would have… Then Shiro would warn him to calm it down and Allura would have reprimanded him for doing something stupid again.”

“Yeah…” Pidge frowned. “I miss him so much.”

“Me too.” Muttered Keith. Me too…”


	6. A quiet life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's have a look at our favourite weird alien, and his life on Dotra shall we? Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Tay-Lor’s first solid memory was waking up in a hospital bed on an alien planet. He was sacred and everything hurt. Especially his head. He tried to escape but that obviously didn’t work. Then the other aliens came in. They were scared and didn’t know what to do, but they were kind to him and tried to help him.

The doctor, Ray, showed him X-rays and charts as he tried to explain how his brain had been skewered by a piece of broken metal. The rest of his body didn’t fare too well either. He had dozens of broken bones, internal bleeding, and he was missing a few fingers and toes.

“And since you pretty much almost died on impact, you’re going to stay here for a while.” Said Ray. “You understand?”

“I-I-I ragaaa…” He slurred. That didn’t sound right at all. He felt embarrassed and ashamed.

Ray just nodded and jotted down some notes. “Alright… So it seems like your speech has been impaired… Let’s see… I think I can come up with a treatment. Try not to do anything too stressful. Princess? Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself… Assuming that is a he… Aliens…” He muttered as he walked out of the room.

Tay-Lor looked at the Princess. She looked pretty. Princesses were pretty important, right? He assumed so. She smiled softly at him and sat in a chair beside him.

“Hello.” She said. “I’m Princess Flos. I’m sorry about what happened and if you’re confused about what happened. Ray kind of just assumes everything. Can I ask you some simple yes and no questions? Nod for yes shake head for no? Understand?”

Tay-Lor nodded.

The princess smiled. “Wonderful. Now, do you remember how you got here?” 

He shook his head.

“That’s okay. Do you know where you are now?”

He shook his head.

“Do you remember your name?”

There was slight hesitation before he realised that he didn’t remember his name. It was lost on him. He quickly shook his head as he felt his eyes start to sting.

“Do you remember anything?”

He shook his head again and quietly started to sob. He didn’t remember anything. He didn’t know who he was or what he was. It was scary. Who was he? Where was he from? Why was he here? What was he here for? Why? What was happening? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

He was in the middle of having a panic attack. Flos put her hand on his shoulder to try and give him some comfort. “It’s okay. We’re going to help you.” He was scared, but he believed her. What choice did he have?

Over the next few days Ray and Flos worked to help Tay-Lor walk and talk properly. Tay-Lor still didn’t know who they were or what they were. They did try to help him but they couldn’t figure out much about him personally. It sucked, but they helped him as much as they could. 

He could walk and talk and quickly understood what was going on around him and was somewhat integrated into neulite society. His best chance for living a quiet life was out in one of the villages and he ended up in the village run by Chief Kar. He was seen as more sympathetic to aliens and let him live with him while they tried to figure out what kind of job they could give him.

Baking and any cooking jobs were out. He didn’t have the right pallet for that. The food he made was always too sweet or had the wrong texture for any one else beside him to eat. He was okay at farming but he could only do a small handful of things. Some of the other farmers commented how it felt like child labor with him around. 

Kar’s partner thought it would be a good idea to teach him how to make clothes. Clothes were a little hard for Tay-Lor to do, but it was okay. He had a little trouble when it came to hemming. He kept pricking his fingers on the needle.

Kar’s partner sighed a little as they tried again to help him. “Okay, I’ll walk you through it this time. You take the thread, and it goes through the eye of the needle. Thread the needle.”

“Thread the needle…” Muttered Tay-Lor as he tried to copy them. “Thread the… needle… Taylor…”

“Tay-Lor?”

“... Yes.”

“What’s a Tay-Lor?”

They shrugged. “I think… I think that’s my name…”

They let out a happy trill and gently squeezed his arm. “That’s good! You remembered your name. You have part of yourself back. Tay-Lor is a lovely name by the way. Sounds strong. A good strong name.”

Tay-Lor blushed and looked away. “Thanks.”

He liked it. It was nicer to be called alien or that other thing. It was upsetting being called those things, but being called Tay-Lor gave him some form of identity. It made him smile. He was someone. But he wasn’t someone… He was him, but it still didn’t feel right. It never really felt right...

***

Tay-Lor made his way through the city and back to his home. After everything that happened at the training hall he just wanted to go home and crawl under his blankets. Keith was… He made him feel things. Things he didn’t want to feel… It just felt too raw, too… He didn’t like it.

He quickly made his way back home and walked back into his small apartment. It was considered small for a neulite, but he didn’t feel that small to him. It had a bed, kitchen, bathroom, and a TV already built into the wall. He took off his exoskeleton and flopped down onto the mattress.

He felt ill. When he remembered his past it wasn’t something that played out clearly like a movie. It was colours, shapes, and only if he was lucky he would hear voices. Like the woman he thought might have been his mother. He wasn’t sure. They sounded wonderful when they sang. He hoped they were his mother. But then again he didn’t. He would start missing her if that was the case.

The memory he felt when he got thrown onto his back was intense. He felt some weird burning intensity in his chest. He’d been thrown down on the ground by someone else before. They stood over him and Tay-Lor could feel his heart racing. There were mixes of red and black. He was sure the black was from hair, like his. They might have thrown him onto his back but there was a light hearted nature to it.

They had to be from his species. Someone he cared for intensely. Were they their friend? Their romantic partner? Were they married? He quickly slapped himself. He was not going to think about the past. The past was painful. The past was something he was not allowed to have anymore. He had to look towards the future. The future was the only thing that mattered anymore.

Speaking of the future, Tay-Lor had to look after himself. He sat up and started to undress; gauntlets were tossed aside, armor was hung back up, undershirt and pants were tossed into his laundry basket.

With a heavy sigh he walked over to the fridge and took out a large bottle of glowing yellow liquid. He sat down on his bed and slowly started the long process of taking off his mask. It wasn’t just a simple mask made of metal and wood. It was a lot more important than that. There were senses that helped compensate for lack of sight and facial recognition. 

His mask was customised to be taken off a little easier than others so he could easily refill the reservoir in the cheeks. Due to his brain damage Ray had developed an experimental drug for him to take periodically throughout the day. Twice a day he’d be drip fed the liquid which was apparently made from stem cells and some other chemicals. It was apparently meant to help with the damage and reconnecting the neurons. He guessed it helped since he was able to stand up and walk around faster than everyone expected him to.

He quickly refilled the reservoir in the left cheek with the liquid. Then he checked the reservoir of blue liquid in the right cheek. It was still full. The blue liquid was meant to help with spirit projection. Something he didn’t like dabbling with. It burned a lot. Neulites seemed fine with it, but since he wasn’t one of them it took a bigger toll on his body.

Once he made sure it was still working Tay-Lor sighed and ran his hands over his face. It had been forever since he had last touched his skin. It felt weird to him, but it didn’t matter that much to him. He was going to have a bath and forget everything.

The bathtub was decently sized and Tay-Lor could easily stretch out in the warm water. He poured a few different lotions into it. They were meant to help heal bruises and shallow cuts. He wasn’t sure if that worked, but he was okay with it. It smelled nice. Kind of floral and familiar. Probably like something from his home planet that he couldn’t remember.

He sank down to his shoulders with his arm lazily stretched out against the edge. He drummed his fingers against the edge, noting the metallic thump every few seconds. Tay-Lor sighed and looked at his hand. When he’d crashed he lost his pinky and ring finger on his right hand. On his left hand he lost his middle finger. However he’d also got his hand caught in the mouth of a rather hungry fish. So he technically only had his thumb on that hand.

Ray was good at getting him some digits that actually worked really well. He’d colourised it to match his skin tone too. The only way he knew they were fake was the metallic sound and the dull green colour that glowed out from under his nails. Same thing had happened to one of his big toes.

He closed his eyes and was instantly drawn back into the black. That beautiful black silky hair. He wanted to run his fingers through it. It looked so soft. Tay-Lor felt like if he could do that, his spirit would be lifted. He’d be elevated. Something stupid and poetic like that. It made him feel dumb. Swirls of black and red danced in his mind as his body held onto that feeling. That tightening in his chest. The quick beating of his heart. They were someone important to them. Whoever they were.

Tay-Lor took a deep breath and completely submerged themselves under the water. The lotion in the bath made the skin on his face tingle a little, but it was kind of nice. He stayed underwater for as long as his body would let him before he sat back up.

Eventually Tay-Lor got out, dried himself off and checked himself in his bathroom mirror. His hair was starting to get long again. He’d thought about cutting it or shaving it, but since neulites didn’t have hair like he did, he’d have to get animal shears. Those were very bulky and difficult for him to use. The only way he could really use it was if someone else used it while he wasn’t wearing his mask. In other words he pretty much had to go to Ray for a haircut. Something the doctor found annoying, so Tay-Lor didn’t bother him with it until he needed to see him for medical reasons.

Speaking of medical reasons, Tay-Lor pushed some of his hair out of the way to look at the scar that zigzagged across his scalp. In the light the scar glowed a bright white and was completely healed. He sighed sadly and quickly applied some moisturiser, scar cream, eye drops, and he brushed his teeth.

Once he was done, Tay-Lor went about cleaning and bandaging any new knicks and cuts he might have gotten just through training. He found a few abrasions on his legs from where his exoskeleton pressed just a little too hard into his skin.

When he was bandaged again, he dressed in casual clothes and put his mask back on. He had the rest of the day to himself unless he was suddenly called back to the palace. If he did get a call from the palace it would probably be the princess trying to get him to hang out with her.

He couldn’t really understand her obsession with him. Sure she was nice and he did appreciate the attention but she came on way too strong. He thought that maybe it was because he was smaller than the average neulite? Something about wanting to protect small things or whatever.

Tay-Lor reached into his bedside table and took out a lighter and packet of cigarettes. They had some calming qualities and they didn’t taste too bad either. For some reason he called it _space weed_ but he didn’t know why.

There were a few hours before Masquerade opened up again and he wanted to relax. He took a quick puff and watched a plume of bright orange smoke leave his mouth and drifted into the air. It was pretty. He liked it. He could do a few smoke tricks, but Zell didn’t like it when he smoked. Mainly because it seemed to slow his reflexes compared to him or the neulites. Tay-Lor stuck to smoking when he was able to have a few days off. He took a long drag and let out a few smoke rings. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door which Tay-Lor reluctantly got up to answer. At the door was one of the other full masks. There were a fair few full masks and half masks living in this building, but Tay-Lor didn’t really get along with anyone beside Zell.

Tay-Lor stared up at them and took a really, really long drag of his cigarette. “Yeah?”

The other made an annoyed sound and waved the smoke out of their face. “So you’re finally back.”

“Yep.”

“Call the landlord.”

“Why?”

“Just fucking do it Alien.” They snapped. “Stop being a lazy shit and smoking all fucking day. Stupid shits like you are taking jobs away from decent hard working neulites.”

Tay-Lor leaned against the doorframe and continued to smoke. “So, what is it? Am I lazy or am I taking jobs?”

They growled at him. “You should have died when you hit the ground.”

“No arguments here. Anything else?”

They leaned in close so they were eye level with Tay-Lor. “You think you’re untouchable don’t you? Just because you have the Princess wrapped around your little finger you think you can do whatever you want and get away with it, and if she isn’t around you’re hiding behind Zell.”

Tay-Lor was instantly tired of this conversation. He just yawned and took another drag. He then proceeded to blow smoke in his face. “Anything else? I need to give the landlord a call.”

They took a step back and coughed. “You better watch your back. Fucking Alien.” They flashed their necklace at him, showing it had ten fangs dangling off it. “Ten fangs and counting.”

“Oh, I’m shaking in my exoskeleton.” Muttered Tay-Lor in a sarcastic manner. “You want my fangs? You get a mask off organised. Doubt you’ll get it approved if all you’ve got to bitch about is me existing. Go fuck a shragraph.” He slammed the door in their face and went to call the landlord to see what they wanted. They were upping the rent.

***

Later that evening Tay-Lor was getting ready to go to Masquerade. He was ready to just unwind and forget about everything for a few hours. No Princess. No Zell. No Voltron. He dressed in smart casual but when he went to open the door and leave, Zell was about to knock on his door. 

“Did I miss something?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“Clearly.” Muttered Zell. “I left you a message that Ray wanted me to pick you up and take you to his clinic. He’s made some headway with his prosthetics research.”

“... I’m going out.”

“Not to Masquerade you’re not.” He picked up Tay-Lor and threw him over his shoulder. Tay-Lor put up no protest as Zell walked off with him. There was no point. Zell was much stronger than any neulite without even trying. Tay-Lor had learned quickly it was just easier for him to go with the flow.

They eventually got back to the palace and subsequently Ray’s clinic. Ray practically pulled him out of the exoskeleton and shoved him into a chair. He then quickly went to work. Tay-Lor sighed and spun around in his chair. His evening was ruined.

While Ray was tinkering with the exoskeleton he called over to Zell. “Take off Tay-Lor’s fingers. I’m going to upgrade them.”

Tay-Lor just shrugged while Zell grabbed his fingers and yanked them off. As he ripped them off Pidge and Hunk walked back in. “Hey, so- WHAT THE HELL?!” Yelled Pidge in shock.

Zell looked down at the fingers in his hand and shrugged. “Tay-Lor doesn’t have all his fingers.” Tay-Lor wiggled his fingers for emphasis.

“... Alright.” Said Pidge. “Now I understand why you’re mainly working on hands at the moment.”

Ray nodded as he started to replace the hydraulic compressors in the exoskeleton. “Yes. Gonna give him some laser fingers. Gun fingers. Darts? By the time I’m done with them he’s gonna be shooting something out of them.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. Ray over exaggerated everything. Hunk walked over to Zell and had a look at one of the fingers in his hands. Um, if you don’t mind me asking was this all due to like when you crashed into the planet?”

“A few.” Admitted Tay-Lor. He held up his left hand showing he only had his thumb. “This is what happened when I tried to be nice to a wild grumph. They mostly eat vermin in the villages and I found one caught up in a bush. I had to take my gauntlets off to free it and it thanked me by almost eating my whole hand.”

Hunk cringed. “That’s rough buddy…” He very carefully picked up one of the fingers. “Huh… Hey Pidge? Come have a look at this for a second.”

Pidge walked over and had a look at one of the digits. They stared at it for a few moments before making a surprised noise. “Oh! This is Galra tech, or at least partially?”

Ray shrugged. “Probably. Anytime something interesting falls from the sky we give it a look over and if we can use it. So yeah. If that’s Galra tech then it’s Galra tech. We really don’t care.” He moved something on the exoskeleton and got hit in the face with a piston. “Ow…”

Tay-Lor chuckled and looked at the Paladins. These two seemed nice enough. Pidge seemed like a very sassy child, and he was kind of happy that there was some alien out there that was a little shorter than he was. Hunk had a friendly demeanor about him that made Tay-Lor feel relaxed around him. Tay-Lor felt kind of bad about almost killing them all when he first saw them.

“So what are you all dressed up for?” Asked Pidge. “Going to meet up with the Princess?”

Tay-Lor groaned. “No. I was going to go to the Masquerade.” 

“It’s an exclusive nightclub.” Said Zell. You can only get in if you’re a half mask, full mask, or a bare face with ID. A normal citizen can get in as long as they are with one of us. Lots of drinking, dancing… Sometimes drugs. All depends on what level your membership is at. It’s one of the few places we can unwind and throw away our identity as law enforcement.”

“Sounds like fun.” Said Pidge. “Guess your night is kind of ruined now huh?”

“Yep.”

Ray rolled his eyes and finished working on the exoskeleton. “Science waits for no one! Now, give me them fingers.” He took them off of Zell and started working on them at his workbench. Once again he was muttering to himself. “Gonna give them lasers… Make them shoot darts, or electricity. Yes. No. Yes. No… Both.”

Tay-Lor shook his head and let the scientist work. He went over and put his exoskeleton back on. The hydraulics seemed to be a little sharper. He quickly switched from the different modes. It was a lot quicker than before. He liked that a lot.

“How does it feel?” Asked Hunk.

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Pretty good. They were kind of due for a tune up.”

Hunk grinned. “Good. Pidge and I were working with Ray to give it a bit of an upgrade.”

“Oh really now?”

“Yep.” Said Pidge. “When it comes to upgrades Hunk and I are the dream team. I do software and Hunk does hardware.”

“That’s pretty impressive.” Said Tay-Lor. “What about the others? What do they contribute to the team?”

“Shiro’s our leader.” Said Hunk. “He’s always really cool and calm under pressure. He always comes up with plans and can quickly change at the drop of a hat… We all really look up to him.”

Zell tilted his head slightly in confusion. “I thought that Princess Allura was the leader of Voltron.”

“Well yeah,” said Hunk. “But Shiro’s like the head of Voltron. Allura’s always been more diplomatic. She helps rally everyone together and she inspires us to keep going.”

“And Keith’s the asshole with the bad haircut and anger issues.” Said Pidge. “I guess he’s also really good at fighting too. Never get between Keith and something he wants when he has a sharp object.”

Tay-Lor nodded along. He could respect team Voltron for their team dynamic. They were a good, strong unit of fighters and thinkers. If they were a little better at fighting he could see them as people that could be worthy enough to defend the universe. 

“Done!” Ray happily held up two fingers and helped Tay-Lor stick them back onto his right hand. “How does that feel?”

Tay-Lor wiggled his fingers, noting the slight spark he felt where the robotics met his flesh, like it usually did when he reconnected them. It was okay. It didn’t hurt but he couldn’t really feel much of a difference to how it did before. Maybe they were a little more sensitive? He couldn’t tell.

“Feels fine to me.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “Can I have my other fingers back now?”

“I’m still working on them!” Whined Ray. He pouted and continued to work on the other fingers.

Tay-Lor continued to talk with Hunk and Pidge and Tay-lor found that he really enjoyed their company. He hadn’t been able to hold much of a conversation with any neulites apart from Flos, Ray, and Chief Kar. It made him happy. He was smiling a lot more than usual and actually shared a few laughs with them.

Soon Ray finished fixing the other fingers and handed them back to Tay-Lor. He put them back on and wiggled his fingers. He was good. Ray had finished up earlier than he thought he would. Maybe he could still get shit faced at Masquerade?

The door opened up and Keith walked in. “Um, am I interrupting something?”

Ray’s eyes lit up. “Food now?”

“Um yeah? Shiro would have come down but he didn’t know where the clinic was and-”

“Fuck yeah!” Ray got up and quickly left the room while quietly changing; food, food, food. His childish behaviour was such a contradiction to his insane genius when it came to his work.

Keith just looked confused. “So… you guys come or what?”

“Yeah, we’re coming.” Said Pidge.

“Are you guys going to join us?” Asked Hunk.

Zell shook his head. “Not officially invited. Can’t go unless we are invited… And if even if say, the Princess asked us to join the Empress could overrule her and we would have to leave. Tay-Lor and I will go to a bar.”

A bar? Zell wanted to go to a bar? Why? Probably because he didn’t want to drag him out of the Masquerade again. Spoil sport. Tay-Lor wanted to get so smashed he could feel his soul transcend into outer space. 

“Oh, well have fun with that.” Said Hunk. “Try not to get too drunk.”

“See you around Tay-Lor.” Said Pidge. 

The duo left the room and Zell very carefully ushered Keith and Tay-Lor out into the hallway. Keith had a conflicted look on his face. “Hey, Tay-Lor?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… I’m sorry about before I-”

“Don’t.” Said Tay-Lor quickly. “Just… don’t… Look, I’m just tired. Okay? Just tired of all of this I… I just don’t know anymore. Go and enjoy your dinner. The charg is usually pretty good.”

“Charg?”

“It’s kind of like soup, but it has meat and vegetables in it. Some long um… What is it called Zell?”

“Noodles.”

“Noodles, and eggs.”

A small smile appeared on Keith’s face. “Kind of sounds like ramen… It’s a food back on earth.”

“Oh cool. Hope you enjoy it.” Said Tay-Lor. “See you around I guess? I’m usually at the training hall during the day.”

“Cool.” Keith kind of waved awkwardly at him and walked towards the dining hall.

When he was out of ear shot Zell put his hand on Tay-Lor’s shoulder. “Come. We’re going to drink now.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s going to be at that sleazy bar…”

“Well it’s the only place that doesn’t charge me a few extra coins for ordering a drink just because I’m not a neulite.”

“But the drinks suck…”

“I’ll get them to pour some fruit juice into your drinks. You baby.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes and followed Zell. The larger alien could pretty much always get his way and pick him up if he tried to run off. Though if he did get Zell drunk enough he could possibly slip away… Then again he’d have to try and drag the giant bug back to his dwelling where the night was over. He’d have to go to Masquerade tomorrow.


	7. Mingling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys so here is the next chapter, and we're back with Keith's POV. Also, because I love themes, here are the names of the Prince and Princesses of Dotra and what they mean. I just thought it was cute (btw it's Latin).  
> Flos - Flower  
> Spinam - Torn  
> Pullulant -Sprout
> 
> Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The feast that the Empress had put on was a lot more impressive than lunch, though there were a few more people joining them besides Ray and Princess Flos. As it turned out, Flos was just the oldest of three, with Prince Spinam and Princess Pullulant being the youngest. Apart from the royal family there were nobles, dignitaries, and some people that he assumed might have been concubines? He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t that well versed in Neulite society.

There was a lot of talking and lots of colour shifted as the bio-luminescent patches seemed to freely change with their mood and the conversation. Ray looked like he was trying to make a sculpture out of the exoskeletons of some of the food, that might have been like crab, to male Princess Pullulant giggle. The Empress kept shooting him glares, but he ignored her. Prince Spinam was talking with Princess Flos about something. They seemed to be similar in age, but that was just because the prince was slightly shorter. 

Hunk and Pidge were making polite conversation with some nobles that wanted to talk to them. Though by the way they seemed to talk to them it was more like they were talking about them and making snide remarks. It sucked.

But Keith seemed to radiate some kind of energy that made everyone want to avoid him. It was good. He could just eat his food in peace and hopefully excuse himself rather quickly. He happened to find the food that he thought looked kind of familiar so he got a bowl of it.

The charg thing that Tay-Lor had talked about was pretty much an alien version of ramen. Keith was really thankful for that. He really missed some of the comforts of home. Sure it was bright blue and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have been eating something radioactive, but it tasted pretty good and relatively normal. It was comforting. Kind of tasted like a pork bun.

Someone dressed in silk and gold leaned in close to Keith, batting their eyelashes at him. “Hello.” They purred.

Keith quickly swallowed what he was eating. “Hello?”

“So you’re one of the strange aliens from off world huh?”

“...” Keith looked around the table. “Considering I look nothing like a neulite I would assume so.”

“Sassy little thing aren’t you?”

“Apparently so.”

They smirked a little. “So, you lot staying around for the midnight glow festival?”

“The what?”

They scoffed and rolled their eyes. Like Keith should have known what they were talking about. Keith didn’t even know what day it was on this planet. Keith would rather be hanging out with Zell and Tay-Lor. Hell, even Princess Flos seemed better than these people.

“The midnight glow festival.” Said the person again in a condescending manner. “Only one of the most sacred days of the deca-phoeb, but I guess I can’t expect too much from an alien.” That earned a few chuckles and smirks from anyone listening to their conversation.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Well, what about Christmas?” The smirking aliens suddenly went very quiet. “Or what about Halloween? Haunnaka? Easter? Day of the Dead? Do you know those holidays?” There was silence and some of the neulites started to look away as their bio-luminescent patches went pink. “Huh, guess you can’t expect too much from an alien.”

That effectively shut down the conversation and the surrounding neulites refused to talk to him. Which was fine with Keith, though he would probably get a stern talking to by Shiro or Allura about being hostile to other species. Lance was better at this stuff. He had a charm that would draw aliens to him. Keith went back to eating his purple noodles in blue ramen.

There was pretty much nothing else that really caught his attention. Just talking with a few snide and racist comments towards the Paladin’s thrown in. Then someone mentioned the festival again and Princess Pullulant became extremely excited. She was probably the equivalent of about anywhere between five and seven.

“I wanna do the ceremony!” She said quickly. “I wanna do it! I wanna do it! I can be a good shrine maiden!”

The Empress patted her daughter’s head. “Darling, I am glad you are excited but you are still in training to be a shrine maiden. You have many, many years before you can perform shrine maiden duties.” 

Hearing that made the little Princess pout. “I want to do it. I’m a Princess. I should do it.”

The Empress shot her daughter a glare. “So Princess can do anything?”

“Yes!”

“Then you should be able to recite the prayer for the ceremony like a good shrine maiden.” She said calmly. “Off you go. Do it now.”

“...” The princess pouted and stuffed her face with food. Quickly ending the conversation.

Allura gave the Empress her full attention. “Please pardon my ignorance, could you please tell us a little more about this festival?”

“It is a sacred festival where we honour our dead.” Said The Empress. “It is the day we honour our dead. It’s in five quintant’s from now. There will be many festivals across the planet at smaller shrines. There are three main ones that we have in the city. Every deca-phoeb the royal family rotates between which one we attend. This year we are attending the one near the Colosseum. It’s the closest to the palace… It would like to extend an invitation to you and the rest of the Paladins to observe the festival.”

Some of the neulites seemed to be very disapproving of this, but she didn’t seem to care at all. She just shot them a glare, like she was challenging them to oppose her. It shut them up pretty quickly.

Allura just smiled politely. “We would be honoured to observe your festival. Hopefully by then we can finish negotiations.”

“Sounds feasible to me.” Agreed the Empress.

***

Soon the feast was over and things turned to more mingling with people. Keith was handed a drink and he took it. He stood away from the crowd while everyone else mingled. It was just so dull without Lance. Lance lit up the room. The blue in his eyes would probably glow blue in this light.

After what felt like forever, Keith noticed an attendant walk over to the Empress and whispered something into her ear. She excused herself from the conversation she was having with a dignantary and Allura before quickly walking into an adjacent room. Not his problem.

Keith made his way onto the balcony and looked over the edge. He wondered if he could survive jumping out the window if he had to? Probably not. He might survive the fall but he would have many, many broken bones.

He sighed and took a sip. The drink tasted like cinnamon. Maybe he could slip out and head back to his room? He really hoped he could. Then he could just collapse onto his bed and watch some more vlogs, a nightly ritual he had developed, and go to bed.

He heard someone walking up behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Shiro. He smiled a little at Keith. He looked pretty tired. “Hey Keith.”

Keith nodded a little in his direction. “Hey. How was your day?”

“Honestly? Kind of stressful.” Admitted Shiro. “The Empress is a little… She’s pretty strong willed. Even more so than Allura. It’s been a little tough for us to get through to her how dangerous the Galra are. But I think we’ve gotten through to her. The electromagnetic storm is a good defence. Only very small ships can get through.”

“Yeah. I guess it would…” He sighed and poured his drink out over the edge of the balcony. “Today’s been pretty draining for everyone.”

“Yeah, it has.” Shiro stood next to him, staring out into the city. “He really would have loved this place.”

“He would have.”

“Yeah… Do you still talk to the AI Pidge made?”

Keith shrugged. “It’s nice to talk to him sometimes. Even if it’s emotionally draining… I still feel bad about everything that happened to him.”

Shiro put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, gently squeezing. “You can’t keep thinking about the past… We’re going to have to keep doing these things. It’s all part of being part of Voltron. You know that.”

“I do… But out of all of us, Lance really wanted to go home the most.” Muttered Keith. He knew that was something that was going to eat away at him and everyone for the rest of their lives. If they ever got back to Earth they would be delivering Lance back to his family in a match box. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

“You want to go back to your room?”

“Yeah. I think I should. Night Shiro.”

“Night Keith. Don’t cause any trouble on the way back.”

“No promises.” Said Keith in a kind of joking manner. He managed to slip out and walked towards his room. 

After about five minutes of walking down the halls they happened to come across Prince Spinam. He seemed like he might be a teenager. Probably around the fourteen to fifteen mark. He was crouched by a door and looked like he was listening in on something. He saw Keith and looked alarmed for a moment before they shushed them and waved them over to listen in on what they were doing.

“What are you doing?” Whispered Keith.

The Prince pointed to the door and whispered quietly. “Drunk fight. Mama’s pissed.”

Keith peeked through the crack in the door and could clearly see Zell standing there with a roughed up looking neulite on one side of him and someone else he couldn’t quite see. He could hear the Empress marching around the room and making annoyed sounds.

“A fight.” She muttered. “A fight. Of course it was a fight… You two stupid bastards! Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? It’s embarrassing enough when you, the ones meant to uphold the law, act like screaming children when it’s just neulites on the planet, but I am entertaining guests from off world! And for such childish reasons too!”

The neulite grumbled a little under their breath. “The alien started it.”

“You started it!” Snapped the voice of Tay-Lor. “I just finished it.”

“Enough!” Hissed the Empress. “I am tired of you two causing trouble. What can I do to stop this? Execute you both? That would solve the problem!”

“I don’t think we need to go that far…” Said Zell calmly. “A double execution seems-”

“A mask off.” Said the neulite. “I officially challenge the alien to a mask off. Ever since this alien turned up he’s been acting like he can do anything and everything just because he’s seduced Princess Flos-”

“Fuck you!”

“-and all of the full masks that love and have devoted our lives to the royal family his actions… They feel his actions are on par with treason.”

“A mask off is a bit extreme for something like this.” Said Zell calmly.

The Empress didn’t seem to agree with Zell. “Alright. A mask off it is. Tomorrow at noon. You two agree?” There was a pause where he assumed that the two nodded in agreement. “Good. Tomorrow at noon we’ll have a mask off at lunch. Should provide everyone with some entertainment.”

Footsteps started towards the door and the Prince quickly grabbed Keith by the wrist and pulled him into a different room to avoid the people exiting the opposite room. They were quiet as the footsteps slowly became quieter.

After a few seconds the Prince sighed and shook his head. “Damn, another mask off? So lame...”

“What’s a mask off?” Asked Keith. “Why did you bring me here?”

“... You weren’t trying to spy on my mama?”

“I was going back to my room.”

“Oh…” Prince Spinam frowned and shook his head. “Sorry, I really thought you were spying… Please don’t mention to Flos that Tay-Lor’s in another mask off. She’ll freak out.”

“Oh? Why?”

“... A mask off isn’t really a fun thing to do.” Said the Prince. “The only people that are allowed to do a mask off are full masks. It can get pretty brutal depending on what rules are set in the arena. It’s-”

The door opened up and Flos looked in. She gave her younger brother and Keith a suspicious look. “And what are you two doing? What might you be doing Spinam? Sneaking off with an alien to a private room?”

The bio-luminescent patched on Spinam’s skin burned pink. “I hate you so much…” He grumbled as he quickly left the room.

His sister just chuckled and shook her head. “Pay no mind to him… You didn’t do anything to him, did you, or plan to do anything?”

Keith quickly shook his head, instantly worried he might have just caused some incident, which honestly seemed more like a Lance thing rather than a Keith thing. He was the lone wolf. Kept to himself. “Of course not. He just brought me in to talk about stuff. He was too embarrassed to talk to me in front of everyone else.”

“Hmmm, okay. That sounds like Spinam… Are you going back to the party?”

“No. I’m going back to my room. I’m kind of tired.”

“Oh, okay. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

Keith nodded and quickly headed out of the room and back down the hallway towards his room. When he got there, Keith kicked off his shoes and fell back onto the mattress. He hardly did anything that day and he was still really tired. He didn’t understand it.

He took out his comms pad and sighed. He might as well completely drain himself emotionally. He looked through some of the vlogs and found one that he liked. It was almost like an unboxing video. Lance was sitting around a few boxes with different languages printed on them. It was cool to see him so excited for once.

_“Alright! So we went to the space mall today, and the earth shop was having a sale.”_ Lance looked completely giddy with glee. _“They had mystery boxes and stuff like that, so along with getting some more face stuff I got some fun stuff to see what I got.”_

He held up a purple CD player that looked like it came out of the 90’s. Lance showed off a CD he had found and started playing some Nirvana. He was just so happy to have music from home, even if it wasn’t what he usually liked to listen to.

Lance opened up the first box and inside were some animal stickers, a slinky, and a bouncy ball. _“Huh, not the best stuff, but still pretty cool. Let’s open the heavy box next.”_ Inside that one were dozens of CDs. _“Oooo! Let’s see what Earth music we have here… Metallica, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Daft Punk, MCR, Panic at the Disco, Apocalyptica, damn… Lots of good stuff but holy shit! Where is my Beyonce? Rihanna? I am shook!”_

Keith chuckled and grinned at Lance’s antics. Of course he would be upset that there weren’t any of his favourite artists. He wondered if Lance was the one that went ahead and downloaded a bunch of music up to the castle’s database. It probably was him considering after that visit he had heard Pidge and Hunk working to Daft Punk a few days after the date of the vlog.

Lance opened up a few more boxes and took out a few more interesting items. A few wooden animals, a vintage bottle cap, a frisby, a matryoshka (or babushka) doll, a bop it with no batteries, a troll doll, a classic my little pony, an etch a sketch, twenty Simpsons pogs, and a elephant beanie baby.

Just for shits and giggles he put the beanie baby on his head as a hat. _“Well, looks like I got a pretty good haul of goods. Would have been awesome if I was able to like, go and pick out some of my own stuff, but hey, I’m glad I was able to get some cool earth stuff.”_ He hummed a little and looked up at the elephant on his head. _“... I think I’ll see if Hunk wants this. The big guy might like this. Allura and Coran might like the matryoshka and the wooden animals. Pidge would love the Bop it, and they’re gonna love figuring out how to make it work… Shiro might appreciate the etch a sketch, to like keep his mind off of things… Keith…”_

Keith’s heart always clenched when Lance talked about him in his vlogs. It made him realise and regret how distant he was with the Blue Paladin. Keith always thought that Lance hated him or at least resented him for some reason. He didn’t know why. They had such a weird relationship. Lance acted like Keith was an annoyance when he was around but when he was in his vlogs, Lance seemed so insecure and unsure of himself.

Lance let out a nervous laugh. _“Well, it doesn’t really matter what I give Keith. He’s going to hate it, since he hates me… Maybe he’d like the frisby? He’d probably throw it in the trash or like, launch it into space…”_ He sighed sadly and ran his fingers through his hair, knocking the beanie baby off his head. 

It hurt Keith to think that Lance thought he would throw away anything he gave him. Keith would have loved anything that Lance gave him. Anything that anyone gave him. He actually found the troll doll on a kitchen shelf a few weeks later. It had a few bite marks on its fingers from where the mice had nibbled it. Keith took it and put it in his room. If someone asked for it he would have given it back, but he missed earth too and having a little something from there would have made him smile.

_“A-anyway. I also got some skin care stuff.”_ He picked up some bottles of blue and green gel. When Lance talked about skin care stuff he was really in his element. _“You have any idea how difficult it was to learn Himyna. But hey, I had to learn it to learn what I was putting on my face. So the green stuff is kind of like a super mild acid peel and the blue stuff is more or a moisturizer.”_ He looked so excited. _“I’m going to try and use the moisturizer tonight. My skin’s gonna look so plump and refreshed.”_

Lance had been glowing for a few days after they went to the space mall. Keith had stared at him for a surprising amount of time wondering what was so different about Lance that day. Now he knew his secret. Good skincare.

He had contemplated asking Lance what he had done to himself, but since he was so socially constipated he knew no matter what he said it would come out as an insult. He hated it. He could have said something and maybe they could have done some kind of bonding. Keith could have met him halfway. He could have. But he didn’t. He was an asshole.

_“Later this week I’m gonna try and do some r &r with Allura. She appreciates the finer things about skin care… Though I will try and get Pidge in too. They have the worst bags under their eyes. I have some stuff that will help with that… I’ll ask Hunk too. Hunk appreciates some of that lovely skin tingling face mask stuff.”_ He pouted and huffed a little. _“Well, I would ask Shiro or Keith to join in but holy crow! What the hell man, they have perfect skin! It has to be their Asian genetics or something! Like seriously! Practically flawless with some soap and water! Not fair!”_

Keith chuckled and rolled his eyes. Lance had gone off a few times about Keith’s perfect skin. It was silly, but it kind of made Keith’s stomach twist and turn when he thought about it. It confused him a little at the time. 

He finished up the vlog and starfished out on the bed. Everything here was so weird and strange. He wanted to go back out to the castle ship and fly off to fight the Galra. He was thinking way too much about Lance today. Way too much. Today was just… He was tired. He needed to sleep.


	8. Pep talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was going to include the fight in the chapter, but it flowed better when I split things in half. Hope you all understand. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The next day around lunch time the Paladin’s were invited to go to the Colosseum to watch a fight in the arena. They were in some fancy private box that overlooked the entire place. Many of the seats were filled up with people talking excitedly. While everyone did seem curious as to what was going on, Keith could tell Shiro was very uncomfortable with this.

When they were able to have a quiet moment Keith pulled Shiro away to talk to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Said Shiro quietly. “I just… Going to these kinds of places makes me uncomfortable.”

“You don’t have to be here.”

“The Empress invited us.” Said Shiro. “It would be rude not to come…” He looked around the private box and gestured to the open bar. “When I can I’m going to slip away and drink. Join me?”

“Sure.” Said Keith. “Hopefully whatever thing they are doing isn’t too violent.”

One of the attendants came over and quietly ushered the two Paladin’s to their designated seats. They quickly sat down and a big screen suddenly lit up. Probably a commentator for the event. They grinned, showing off the gold and jewels that dotted their tusks. There were huge cheers from the crowd when they saw them. 

They cleared their throat and happily addressed the crowd. _“Good afternoon Ladies, Gentleman, and gender undefined of all ages. It’s a lovely day for another… MASK OFF!!!”_ The crowd went crazy and the announcer let them have their moment before they continued. _“And as usual I, your beloved commentator and beauty guru, Darimore, am more than honoured to bring you this event. However we wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for someone even more beloved than I, our Empress, Amyg-Dala!”_

The crowd cheered as the Empress appeared on screen. She smiled and waved at them, playing the part of the benevolent ruler. “Yes, yes.” She said with a smile. “Hello everyone. Nice to see you all.”

Pidge hummed a little as she leaned back in her chair. “Looks like everyone really likes the Empress.”

“She’s a good ruler.” Said Hunk. “She’s giving the people what they want and it’s not like she’s got a line of people getting ready to be executed.”

_“And seated with our beloved Empress are guests from beyond the stars; Princess Allura and the Paladin’s of Voltron!”_ Everyone continued to cheer as the cameras zoomed in on them. Keith did not like seeing himself on screen. Thankfully they were only on for a few seconds before Darimore was back on screen. _“Aren’t they something folks? Now let me cut to my co-host and best selling author of the book 50 ways to skin a corajack, Amana!”_ The camera cut to another neulite that looked a lot more clean cut than Darimore did. _“Amana! What can you tell us about the fight today?”_

Amana shook their head and straightened up their papers. _“Well Dari, I can tell you one thing, we are in for another treat. This is gonna be a wild one.”_

_“A wild one?”_

_“A wild one.”_ Amana shook their head and fanned themselves with their papers. _“It’s a no holds bar, full contact fight, light armor only, random weapon drops, and in the multi-terrain shift arena.”_

_“Are you serious? Multi-terrain? That one’s a huge crowd favourite!”_ Exclaimed Darimore. _“Our Empress sure is blessing us today! What can you tell us about the fighters?”_

They shuffled some more papers. _“Well our first fighter is quite a popular one. Everyone remembers the king of the mountain; Hirudinea! This man has won nine! Count ‘em, nine masks offs! He’s looking to make it a ten!”_ On the screen they played several clips from previous fights… It was brutal. Keith didn’t know much about neulite biology but he was pretty sure they didn’t have five different joints in their arms.

_“Luckily for our mountain king, one of the terrains is mountains.”_ Said Darimore. _“There’s also jungle, swamp, and flat lands. What can you tell us about our other fighter?”_

_“You mean our favourite underdog?”_ Asked Amana. _“It’s always good to see Tay-Lor back in the arena. The mysterious alien from beyond the stars has a bit of a fan base going.”_

_“You said it.”_ Said Darimore. _“I have a whole makeup series dedicated to the body paints he uses.”_

Amana rolled their eyes. _“Anyway, Tay-Lor has won six mask-offs and has proved himself to be a bit of a jack of all trades, using his speed and agility to outmaneuver his opponents. If you remember there was a small controversy with his exoskeleton. People thought it gave him an unfair advantage, but they have been tested time and time again by independent groups before these fights to make sure he has no advantage.”_

_“I remember that. So dumb. If he didn’t have those he’d have to fight exclusively in the flat lands. Sooooo dull.”_

_“Right you are Darimore.”_ There was a montage of Tay-Lor leaping through the air and attacking his opponents in the same way that he had attacked the Paladin’s when they first met. Keith recognised the moves. _“Want to go over the rules in case anyone is just tuning in for the first time there Darimore?”_

The alien laughed. _“Of course. I love it when the attention is on me after all.”_ The screen changed so Darimore’s face was off in a cover while a diagram of the screen took up most of it. _“Alright, alright, alright. Each will start at the opposite end of the arena and will have to make their way towards each other. At random intervals weapons will drop. As per tradition it’s bludgeoning weapons only. However crafting a knife or bow and arrow in the arena is permitted. The terrain will also randomly change at will. Can be between anything between a few ticks to a few dobosh’s. Impossible to tell.”_

“Sounds rough.” Muttered Pidge. “It’s almost like a real gladiator fight. Kind of.”

“Hope they have some medic’s on hand…” Muttered Hunk.

_“Now, there are only three rules to a face off; the fight starts and stops when the Empress blows the horn, the fight cannot leave the arena, and finally the winner can only be decided by ripping off the other person’s mask. Everyone got that? Good. Now for a word from our sponsors.”_

Keith tuned out of the sponsors as Hunk and Pidge were starting to compare what a mask-off might be like on Earth. The thing they kept going back to was gladiatorial fights. Shiro still looked uncomfortable and was eyeing the bar.

Suddenly Princess Flos burst through the doors and made a beeline straight for the Empress. “YOU EVIL WITCH!” She screeched, catching the Paladin’s off guard.

The Empress didn’t seem very phased by it, in fact it looked like she expected it. “I take it you heard Tay-Lor was in another mask-off?”

“You said you wouldn’t make him do these anymore!” Cried the princess. “How could you? You lied to me!”

“I said I wouldn’t try and persuade him to fight for his honour when he is dishonoured as per your request.” Corrected the Empress. “Tay-Lor chose to do this of his own free will. Since he willingly agreed to this and chose this, I refuse to stop this.”

“Whoa, let’s calm down a little.” Said Hunk. “I get you’re worried about Tay-Lor getting hurt-”

“Getting hurt?” Growled Flos. “Getting hurt? Do you even know what this is? Do you know what happens when you rip off a full mask’s, mask without being careful to unclip and unlock every little part? You fucking kill them! Their whole face gets ripped off! Bone, muscle, brain, eyes, teeth, everything! A mask-off is a death match!”

The mood quickly changed when the Paladin’s heard this. Keith’s blood ran cold. He now understood where the Princess’s frantic attitude came from. There was a high possibility that Tay-Lor was going to die.

***

Tay-Lor was standing quietly in the locker room. His hands were wrapped in bandages with light leather gauntlets protecting his arms. The usual gauntlets he wore were classed as heavy armor so he couldn’t wear those. He also just had a thin leather hide on his chest. Around his neck was a necklace with six fangs on it. Each one his trophy for not getting murdered.

He clenched his fist as he ran one hand over them. Deep in the deepest recesses of his mind he could hear something from his past. A small cacophony of whispers that sounded like hissing. Out of all the memories where he could hear voices it had to be the ones where they were belittling him.

_Weak._

_Pathetic._

_Loser._

_Why are you even here?_

_Idiot._

_With him here we’re all gonna die._

_Think we can ask for a different team mate?_

_Ha, you’re joking, right?_

_Loser._

_Get out of here._

_Goofball._

Tay-Lor punched the wall for possibly the hundredth time while he was getting ready. He hated those thoughts, but at the same time they fueled him. Was he some pathetic moron on his home planet that everyone hated? Probably. Was he maybe a screw up? More than likely. However, here on Dotra, he was different. He wasn’t them. He wasn’t who he was. He was someone different. He was Tay-Lor and he could prove every voice wrong, one fight at a time.

There was a knock at the room and Zell pushed it open. “Tay-Lor? You almost ready?”

“Yeah. I’m good. What’s up?”

Zell walked over to him and looked at the dent in the wall. “... You need to stop doing that. You could break your fingers before the match starts and Ray will get pissed.”

“Might not live to see him get pissed.”

“Tay-Lor…”

“Well it’s true!” Snapped the shorter alien. “What the fuck does it even matter anyway? I’m always going to be known as that weird fucked up alien that’s trying to fuck the Princess! At least they have the decency to say I want to fuck the older one!”

“That’s because you almost murdered the half mask that suggested your species likes them young and immature.” Said Zell.

“I just… I feel very protective about children.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “I’d fucking murder anyone that touched a child.”

“I know…” Zell sat down on a bench and sighed. “You can’t keep doing this. You’re going to end up really hurting yourself… Also I’m pretty sure the Empress would get pissed off if you died since Flos would demand you get a royal funeral.”

“Wouldn’t want to upset the boss lady now would I?” He asked in a sarcastic manner. The two aliens shared a brief laugh before Tay-Lor sat next to his former mentor. “... The Paladins are here, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.”

“Think they will approve of this? You came from a planet that wasn't as violent as this…”

“Probably disgusted.” He said honestly. “Most aliens don’t have death matches over name calling… They might try and ask the Empress to stop this.”

“Nothing short of a natural disaster will get her to stop this.”

‘I know… It’s still nice to know that strangers might try to fight to keep you alive.”

“I guess…” Tay-Lor sighed and leaned against Zell’s arm. “Hope I put on a good show…”

“You will. You always do.”

“Because I have everything to prove?”

“Because you have nothing to lose.” Said Zell honestly. He patted Tay-Lor’s head. “You’re an alien with no memory. You have no idea who you are so all your previous reasons for keeping yourself alive are gone. You don’t second guess yourself. You do not have to worry about your family. You have no lover, and you know that anyone with even a shred of respect for you knows that you will die with honour in the arena. If you live it just means you can die tomorrow. Understand?”

“You give me the same pep talk every time.” Muttered Tay-Lor. He already knew he was strong because he didn’t have those things holding him back, but everyone else did. Everyone else was fearful of what they could lose. Tay-Lor had already lost everything.

“Well that’s because it’s true.” He stood up and patted Tay-Lor on the shoulder. “Come on. Time to get to the arena. The Empress is going to blow the horn any second now.”

Tay-Lor nodded and followed Zell down the familiar halls towards his starting point. He could already hear the cheers of the crowd. He’d be lying if he didn’t say he felt a little nervous. He stood there for a few moments in the holding pen he was meant to stand in before it started with Zell.

“Are you okay?” He asked. “You’re humming again.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. Something from your planet?”

“I think so… You know I just do that shit randomly when I get nervous…”

“I also know you remember the words if you think just a little harder about it. So go on, what were you humming?”

Tay-Lor thought for a moment and words started to roll off his tongue as they sometimes did. “... Another story of the bitter pills of fate. I can’t go back again, I can’t go back again. But you asked me to love you and I did. Traded my emotions for a contract to commit. And when I got away I only got so far. The other me is dead, I hear his voice…” He frowned and scrunched his face a little. “And that’s all I can word right now. Might be able to remember more for you if I survive this.”

“When you survive this.” Corrected Zell. “If there is one thing I have faith in on this planet it’s you.”

“... You really should put your faith in things less likely to disappoint you.”

***

“A death match?” Questioned Allura. “This is a deathmatch? You’re making people compete for their lives?”

The Empress rolled her eyes. “Please, I have never forced my subjects to fight for their amusement. This is a tradition that goes back millennia. Traditionally, full masks used to just brawl out their own disagreements in the streets. It was dangerous and caused more casualties. This way no one but the intended targets get hurt and the proceeds made by these fights are used to fund public facilities such as schools and hospitals.”

“But surely there is some other way.” Said Allura. “Fighting to the death is…”

“It’s either this or risk public safety.” Said the Empress coldly. “The needs of the many far outway the needs of the few. I understand that your species might be more sensitive to this issue, but I was willing to risk it for the sake of strengthening our bonds for the alliance.”

Allura did not look pleased. “They are not forced to fight?”

“They have to have a good reason for me to call a mask off.” Said the Empress.

Keith felt that was a huge lie. She sounded annoyed and fed up with the two of them and just called this deathmatch to get them out of her hair. He wanted to say something, but for the moment he bit his tongue. They needed this alliance. At least that’s what Allura claimed.

“So please, if you do not wish to watch it you may leave. I will understand.” She said as an attendant walked up to her with a horn on a pillow. The Empress thanked them and picked it up. “Now if you excuse me, I have a fight to start.” She put the horn to her lips and blew. A dull drone rang out through the arena and the crowd started losing their minds. The fight was on.


	9. Mask off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the fight. Have fun with that and prepare to scream at me when the chapter is over. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The horn sounded and Tay-Lor stepped out into the arena. As he did so the filter that covered the arena came into effect. It was made to simulate the sky and to stop the fighters from looking at the screens and figuring out where the other was. It was fair.

To start with, the arena looked like a jungle. He could deal with this. With little effort Tay-Lor jumped into the air and climbed a familiar tree. He ripped some of the leaves off and started to smear the green sap over his mask and body. He needed to camouflage himself. Anything to try and stop Hirudinea from finding him.

After that Tay-Lor had to focus on finding a weapon. He needed something, anything quick. Weapons drops usually happened around the entryway for each side of the arena. He quickly looked around from his position in the tree and spotted a crate.

He quickly ran to the box and quickly pulled it open. Inside were some sticks and a club. He quickly grabbed the club and jumped back into the trees. He needed to move carefully and quickly if he didn’t want to get ambushed.

Suddenly the ground trembled slightly, signalling the environment would change in a few ticks. Tay-Lor braced himself as the tree he was standing in shifted and became the side of a mountain. He scrambled to stop himself from falling any further down than he had to. He could hear the cheers and shouts of the crowd above them beyond the filtered sky. They were either shocked he fell so far or were yelling about something Hirudinea did. 

Tay-Lor had seen many of the others fights before. The mountain was his domain. He could knock his opponents off the mountain, pin them with rocks, and bash their faces in. It was his preferred method of execution. It counted too since the masks would either fracture and fall off the face, or he’d pull the mask of a bloody pulp. He needed to get to higher ground.

He very carefully pressed himself flat against the side of the mountain as he tried to crawl up the side of the mountain. The mountain was modeled after one of the deadliest mountain ranges on Dotra. It was usually labeled as such because of the animals that lived there, and the animals that lived there tended to be very dangerous. The mountain was still dangerous anyway with thin and easily breakable slates of rock.

When Tay-Lor got to the peak of the mountain he could just see Hirudinea off in the distance. He was too far away for Tay-Lor to be spotted. He could use this to his advantage. If he was smart he could close the gap between them. 

As he started to move the ground trembled slightly and changed again. Tay-Lor got thrown into the air and landed face first into a swamp. The swamps of Dotra were one of the worst places, in his opinion. His exoskeleton could get gummed up with the mud and slime if he wasn’t careful. That wasn’t even counting the insects that loved to try and eat anything soft and fleshy, like him.

He quickly climbed up and out of the water and into a tree. He had to quickly check his exoskeleton. Thankfully it didn’t seem gummed up at all. He was good. Hirudinea was close by now. He might have heard him fall into the swamp.

Tay-Lor closed his eyes and tried to see if he could hear them over the sound of the invisible crowd cheering for blood. It took a few moments for him to steady his breathing and center himself.

Zell had taught him all about centering himself. Being a fighter meant being able to clear his mind of everything and be able to just go for the kill. That was how Zell was. Zell was the kind of person that thought that since they were both aliens they needed to have strong mental health to be able to compete with the neulites. Tay-Lor was grateful for that. It had calmed him several times when he was in the middle of these fights and saved his life.

Tay-Lor’s breath caught in his throat and he quickly jumped away just as a flail swung at him and lodged itself in the tree trunk where he had previously perched himself. Hirudinea quickly pulled it out and stared at him.

“Not bad alien.” He growled. “I would have thought I’d have found you sooner, but this is still pretty good.” He swung the flail around and slowly started to circle around him. He was going to slowly sizing him up. 

Not that Tay-Lor wasn’t doing the same. He was quietly calculating the best way to disarm him and take him out. Neulites had a few obvious weak points that he had exploited in the past. The most vulnerable part of them was their neck. He had managed to win a few fights in the past by breaking their necks with a well placed kick or strike with a blunt object. Sometimes it would kill them outright so Tay-Lor could rip their mask off without any trouble, but in recent time the other neulites seemed to have caught onto this and did their best to protect their long necks.

He swung his flail again and Tay-Lor dodged him, bit only just. He felt the flail scrape across his mask. Any closer and he would have been knocked back on his ass. Tay-Lor quickly jumped away. He needed to get away from the other to figure out how to best to take them out before he got killed.

The terrain trembled again and Tay-Lor ended up getting caught in a tree and launched into the air as it all became a jungle again. He was a little winded, but Hirudinea seemed to be the same way. He was flat on his back and looked a little dazed.

Tay-Lor took this time to quickly run away and find a better weapon. His club was okay, but something like a flail had better distance. Something a neulite didn’t really need since they already had freakishly long limbs.

Up in the trees he saw a long box and quickly went for it. Inside was a weapon that kind of looked like a whip with a set of twin blades at one end. Still classified as a bludgeoning weapon since the blades were attached to heavy metal balls. A much better weapon than his club. He quickly dropped the club and went about trying to find Hirudinea again.

***

It was like a trainwreck. At least that’s what Keith thought. Sure he was a fan of some of the more violent sports back on earth, but the goal wasn’t to kill the other person. He looked over at the other Paladin’s to gauge their reactions; Hunk looked visibly uncomfortable like he was going to be sick. Pidge was nervously chewing on their thumb nail with their eyebrows pulled together in concern. Allura looked like she was trying to figure out if she should risk their potential alliance by trying to stop the fight. Shiro had long excused himself to sit at the bar and drink.

Keith quickly went to join him. Shiro looked way paler than usual and possibly on the verge of a panic attack, or possibly right on the edge of remembering his time in the Galra’s gladiatorial arenas. 

“... Shiro?” He gently put his hand on his arm, making the older man jump a little before he calmed himself down. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Keith…” He said quietly. “Just… Not a huge fan of this kind of stuff for entertainment. You understand, right?”

“Yeah. I get it.” Keith sat on the seat next to Shiro and waved over the bartender to get them a drink. “I don’t think that Allura would have agreed for us to come here if she knew what this was.”

“I know…” Shiro quickly downed his drink. “I guess the only good thing about them is that it’s voluntary? I don’t know.”

Keith shrugged. “... I hope Tay-Lor doesn’t die. Pidge was going to find out what species he is.”

“Yeah… I wished that neither of them had to die. It’s just some part of their culture…” Shiro got another drink and quickly downed that too. “I don’t like it, but there isn’t much we can do about it. We can’t exactly just come marching onto another planet and demand they change their ways… No matter how much we think it’s wrong.”

“I guess…”

Someone suddenly sat next to Keith and slammed their hands on the bar. It was Princess Flos. “One triple starset glowbox, and don’t you skimp on the chi-chiri garnish… And serve it in a galaxy bowl!” Shiro watched as the bartender took out a large crystal bowl, quickly filled it with ten different liquids, and garnished it with a bunch of flower petals. They put it in front of the Princess who quickly grabbed it with both hands and drained it in a matter of seconds. 

“... I take it you’re not a fan of the mask off?” Asked Shiro.

She shook her head. “No. I think this us dumb, but it’s so popular with everyone and it stops the full masks from beating the shit out of each other behind closed doors… I’m horrified whenever my mother approves one of these things… and I’m scared that Tay-Lor will die. He’s won many matches before but he… I don’t want him to die. I don’t want any of them to die… If Tay-Lor dies I’m not going to leave my room for the next deca-phoebe.”

The crowd cheered again as the commentators happily bantered about what was going on in the arena. Keith figured that Tay-Lor and the other guy couldn’t hear them speaking, otherwise they probably would have been behaving differently since they were talking about their positions and what weapons they had.

 _“That’s gonna leave a mark.”_ Laughed Darimore. _“But I gotta say, that alien is one heck of a fighter. You can’t keep him down for long.”_

Amana nodded in agreement. _“Tay-Lor always puts on a good show. I think he always performs the best in the jungle environments. When he’s able to get his hands on those vines he’s practically impossible to hit.”_

_“Agreed. However, Hirudinea did manage to make a basic rock shive when they were in the mountain environment. Very fragile, but he could use it to get a killing blow.”_

_“Yikes. I would not want to be Tay-Lor if I was him and- Looks like Hirudinea has found some track marks. Tay-Lor better be careful now. Hirudinea is a pretty damn good tracker… Oh, looks like the arean’s finally shifted to the flat lands! Should get some good combat here! Might be all over in a few seconds.”_

Keith felt conflicted. He wanted to see what was going on, but at the same time he didn’t. He felt so helpless and useless. He hated this feeling.

***

Tay-Lor hated the flat lands. There was nowhere to run or hide. They spotted each other immediately. Hirudinea still had his flail and lazily swung it around and laughed at the weapon in Tay-Lor’s possession.

“Can a little thing like you even use that.”

“I should be asking you that about that flail.” Said Tay-Lor calmly. “Someone like you doesn’t have the brain function high enough to use one without smashing your own face in.”

Hirudinea growled and lunged at him. At the last second Tay-Lor jumped out of the way and landed a few feet away. The yanked on their weapon hard and was satisfied to find he managed to catch it and dig it into Hirudinea’s arm. He smirked and pulled on it, trying to dig it in and throw them off balance.

He kept underestimating how strong neulite’s were compared to him. With a bit of force, Hirudinea grabbed one end of the weapon and pulled on it as hard as he could. Tay-Lor was sent to the ground, but Hirudinea didn’t stop there. He started running, running Tay-Lor’s body across the ground. A few panels of his armor fell off and Tay-Lor had to let it go.

He quickly pulled himself up and cursed when he saw that parts of his chest and stomach were now exposed. He was also down a weapon. He looked up just in time to see Hirudinea’s fist flying towards him. It made contact with his face and made him stumble back. What happened next was a barrage of fists aiming for his face and chest. It ended with a particularly hard strike to the right side of his face with the flail.

Tay-Lor hit the ground hard. He felt the reservoir containing the liquid to help him spirit project explode inside his mask. The blue liquid got into his mouth, eyes, and nose… And it burned. His senses were going haywire. This wasn’t something he had experienced before in his life. His mind had gone all foggy and it felt like he was being held underwater. He didn’t know what to make of this situation. Maybe he was dying? He wasn’t really sure. He could feel a tightness around his neck...

***

 _“And it looks like Hirudinea’s gonna choke him out!”_ Yelled Amana. _“Have you ever seen something like this before?”_

Darimore shook their head. _“Not from Hirudinea I haven’t. I guess this is all over then. Tay-Lor had a good run but I guess the underdog’s eventually going to… Wait, hold on there Amana, do you see what I am seeing?”_

_“... Is he glowing blue? Wait, is Tay-Lor spirit projecting? He never spirit projects!”_

Hearing that caught the interest of both Keith and Flos, the latter had been quietly weeping when she heard it looked like Tay-Lor was going to lose. They quickly went over to look at the screen only to see Tay-Lor getting choked out while his mask was starting glowing a bright blue colour. A weird blue liquid was oozing out from the mask too.

Princess Flos made a scared squeaking noise. “Oh this is bad… Tay-Lor isn’t good at spirit projecting… He can do it but he’s not a neulite. He can’t hold a stable projection…”

Before anyone else could ask her what she meant there was a huge explosion. The shockwave rattled the stands and pushed everyone back into their chairs. For a few seconds Keith swore he saw a giant, blue, see through shark bursting out of the arena.

“What the fuck was that?!” Exclaimed Pidge.

“Pidge!” Hissed Allura.

“I have earned the right to swear as much as I fucking want when a neon megladon decides to show up out of nowhere!”

“That was a spirit projection…” Said the Empress. “I… I haven’t seen that before…”

 _“WHOA!”_ Exclaimed Darimore. _“What the hell was that? Where is Hirudinea? Did he explode? … Oh no, wait… He’s over there… a few feet away… and the arena’s back to the mountains.”_

Keith watched as Tay-Lor, still surrounded by that weird blue aura ran towards Hirudinea and just started to beat the ever loving shit out of him. It had turned into a straight up brawl on the mountain. They both got several good hits in before Tay-Lor managed to grab Hirudinea by his mask and started to bash his head against the ground. He kept bashing the others head in until he shoved his fingers through the eye holes and ripped the mask clean off his body, taking off everything but the lower jaw.

The Empress blew the horn and ended the fight. The crowd was going crazy at this point. They had no idea what to make of it and to be honest it didn’t seem like the Paladin’s did either. The commentators were talking but Keith didn’t hear what they were saying. His eyes were on Tay-Lor.

The alien stood up and stumbled away from Hirudinea’s body. He swayed like he was drunk before he collapsed to the ground and seemed to pass out. He still had the others' masks in his hand.

***

When Tay-Lor woke up he was in a hospital bed again. Something he was getting a little too comfortable with. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. His mask had been removed. Nothing unusual there. If he was in a hospital bed he needed to have his mask removed. Looking around he also had the privacy curtain set up around him. Standard practice for a full mask like him.

He groaned a little and slowly sat up to at least give himself a quick look over. He had several new scrapes and abrasions. His face also felt kind of heavy. He carefully touched his face noting he had several bandages and some padding here and there. He must have won the fight. He was still alive. Maybe. For all he knew this is what happens when you die.

He heard a door open and the angry mutterings of an annoyed Ray walking in. “Just smash up all my work and get slim in the pistons. Damn brat. I swear as soon as he carks it I’m sticking his brain in a jar just to spite him.”

“I’m awake Ray.”

Ray quickly looked in and frowned. “My threat still stands. Your brain. In a jar. On my desk. Fuck you.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. “Whatever. What happened? Last thing I remember is getting strangled to death.”

“You spirit projected that weird fish thing again and beat the shit out of Hirudinea until you were able to tug the mask off his head leaving the lower jaw.” He pointed to the little bedside table next to him. “I took the liberty of yanking out his tusk for you. Cleaned it and stuck a hole in it too. You just have to thread it on with the rest.”

“Thanks…” Tay-Lor looked at the tusk and frowned a little. He had won. He refused to let those doubting voices in his head tell him otherwise. “... So I get a few days off now, right?”

“If you count staying in here until I fix your mask days off then yes.” Said Ray. “I swear the only thing keeping that thing on your face was your collective hopes and dreams.”

Tay-Lor chuckled a little and started to notice the dull tingling sensation appearing all over his body. “... I feel weird.”

“You swallowed a lot of the conduit.” Said Ray. “Your body is going to be fucked up for a while. Be thankful something really weird didn’t happen, like your bones deciding to leave your body through your kneecaps.”

“... Fair enough.” He lied back down and groaned slightly. “How long until the Princess tries to visit me?”

“She’d be here right now if the Empress hadn’t decided she needed to do some other royal thing.” Said Ray. “But the Paladin’s are here if you’re interested in seeing them?”

“...”

“Zell is here too.”

“Send them in.”

“Wonderful.” Ray quickly pulled the curtain back and left the room.

Seconds later he heard the footsteps of the Paladin’s from behind the curtain. “Are you okay?” Asked Hunk.

“We thought you died or something!” Said Pidge.

Zell chuckled. “Tay-Lor is made of stronger stuff.” The curtain shifted a little before whoever touched it got their hand smacked away. “No. If the curtain is up Tay-Lor doesn’t have his mask on. You’re not allowed to see his face when he’s not wearing his mask.”

“That’s a fucking stupid rule!” Snapped Pidge. “He’s really messed up right now and we can’t even really see him?”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. “All planets have stupid rules. You really want to risk getting your tiny ass thrown in jail for being disrespectful?”

Pidge grumbled a little and Allura cleared her throat. “I apologize, but you must understand this is hard for us. We are not used to the more… brutal elements of neulite society. We were horrified to find out that a mask off was a death match.”

“It is what it is.” Said Tay-Lor. “This is what I chose to do with my life… I wasn’t forced into any of this.”

“It’s true.” Said Zell. “I was there when he agreed to it.”

The Paladin’s were quiet for a moment before Hunk spoke up again. “Um, so what was that shark thing you made? I think Princess Flos said it was spirit projection?”

Tay-Lor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was kind of crusty from dried blood. “Spirit projection is this thing neulites can do. It’s like an emotional manifestation of energy. It usually takes the form of something from deep in your subconscious. Like some kind of spirit animal thing? I don’t do it often since I’m not a neulite and it fucking hurts.”

“It looked like you were channeling a form of quintessence.” Said Allura.

That word sounded kind of familiar to Tay-Lor, but he couldn’t really place it. “Don’t know. You’d have to ask an expert on it… I’m tired…”

“We should go.” Said Shiro. “You need to rest up.” The Paladin’s quickly said goodbye to him and left the room with Zell. 

However, after a few ticks Tay-Lor could someone else was still in the room. “What?” He snapped. “Want to see my face or something? Just get out.”

“... I’m worried about you.” Said Keith quietly. “Fighting in a life or death situation shouldn’t be something you do for fun.”

“Fun?”

“Entertainment like that isn’t something anyone should be doing.”

“Entertainment?” Tay-Lor felt like he was going to blow a fuse. He slowly sat up and swung his legs out of the bed. “Can you come a little closer?” There was a moment of hesitation from the otherside of the curtain before Tay-Lor heard them moving close. “A little closer… Closer.” He didn’t stop asking Kaith to come closer until he could see his shoes under the curtain.

“Yeah? Is this close enough?”

“Perfect…” Tay-Lor stood up and grabbed Keith through the curtain. “Now you listen to me you fucking piece of shit! You know nothing, and I repeat, nothing about me. You think I fight for kicks? For fun? Because it gets my rocks off? I fucking fight because almost everything I remember about myself is fucking bullshit! For every kind of nice memory I have fifty memories telling me I’m some loser that should just die already! This is the only fucking way I can prove that they are wrong!”

Keith squirmed and tried to push Tay-Lor away, but he seemed unable to figure out how much force he needed to use since Tay-Lor was technically injured. “I-I thought you weren’t living in your past or something?”

That made him laugh. “You really think that it’s so fucking easy to shut out my past? My past is so fucked up I have no idea what is going on in my head anymore… If I can’t fight then what am I to this world? I can’t cook. I can’t farm. I can’t even make clothes… All I can do is fight… Fighting is all I can do… I fight for myself. Not for others… I’m not useless...” He pushed Keith away and sat back on the bed. He was done with this.

Keith took a moment to collect himself. “Tay-Lor… I used to know someone. They were really capable but no one really saw him as that or appreciated it until it was too late.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… He wasn’t useless and neither are you… I hope you get better soon. Try not to get into anymore fights.”

“I’ll try…” He heard Keith walk out of the room and Tay-Lor curled back up onto the bed. He knew he wasn’t useless. He could fight. He was a fighter. A survivor. No matter what his past identity was he knew he was a survivor and always would be.


	10. Masquerade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got inspiration. Major inspiration. My muse smacked me with a frying pan and told me; "start writing bitch" and so I did. Enjoy what I have birthed from my brain. Also that science stuff at the bottom (you will know it when you see it) is accurate and I hated editing every single part of it. Bleh. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

After getting yelled at by Tay-Lor, Keith felt like shit. Clearly the alien had his own reasons for doing what he did. He shouldn’t have assumed that Tay-Lor wanted to be in a death fight. He had heard Tay-Lor getting goaded into it the other day. Maybe he should have said something? He didn’t know.

Keith made his way back to his room and lied back down on his bed. The way Tay-Lor spoke about the little bits of his past that he did remember reminded Keith a little of Lance. Always acting one way with everyone but on the inside he was burning up and beating himself down. He couldn’t really help Lance before, but maybe he could help Tay-Lor out now?

He wasn’t sure. He needed to go and punch something. Maybe he’d be allowed to hit something in the training hall? If not he could probably go outside and punch a tree. The second he walked out of his room he walked into Pidge.

“Oh, sorry Pidge.”

“It’s fine. I should have watched where I was going.” Her face was buried in her comms pad.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking at Tay-Lor’s fight.” Said Pidge. “Everyone here is talking about his spirit projection. Like, apparently it isn’t uncommon for a spirit projection to be that big or some kind of sea creature, but there’s something about it…”

“You said it was a megalodon.” Said Keith. “Pretty sure they might just be an earth thing?”

Pidge shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, it did look like a meg, but there’s always the chance it’s just some sea creature from Tay-Lor’s home planet that he kind of remembered. We have seen shark-like creatures on other planets before.”

“True…”

“Still, it is interesting and I kind of feel like something was a little off about it… I don’t know. I’m gonna keep looking.”

“Okay… Is Hunk doing okay? I know everyone was pretty shaken up about what we saw…” 

She shrugged. “Yeah, Hunk’s pretty shaken up, but he calmed down a fair bit when Ray said that Tay-Lor would be up and about in a bit… Are you going to talk to Shiro? He seems pretty messed up after everything that happened and I… I don’t think Hunk or I are the best people to talk to him about this...”

“Yeah, I get it.” Keith looked over at the door to Shiro’s room. “... Is he in there?”

Pidge shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Okay.” Keith walked over to the door and knocked. After a few seconds he opened the door. Shiro was standing by an open window and was leaning against the balcony. He seemed to be lost. At least that’s what Keith thought. He walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. He felt Shiro tense up a little under his touch. “Are you okay?”

Shiro took a moment before he smiled at Keith. “I’m fine Keith. You know me.”

“Yeah, I do know you. That’s why I’m asking you if you’re okay.”

“... I’m not good with blood sports.” Muttered Shiro. “I just… It just made me feel like… I know I wasn’t the one in the arena but I… It just made me really uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay Shiro. I get it.” He really hoped that Shiro would be okay. Shiro had suffered too much already. At least that’s what Keith thought. “Fighting for entertainment and fighting for something are pretty different.”

“Yeah… I’m considering asking Allura for us to just leave. I’m… I’m uncomfortable working with a planet that does that for entertainment.”

“Agreed… I don’t think Allura wants to stay here any longer than we have to either.”

“Yeah…” Shiro sighed again and shook his head. “Okay. No more of this… We’re on a planet, just here enjoying life… Their culture is off, but that’s okay… It’s okay… I’m going to find the kitchens and try to figure out what has alcohol in it. This experience is turning me into a drunk.”

“Try not to drink too much… I don’t think a lot of the neulite drinks are alcoholic to us anyway.”

“Probably not, but I am going to teach them how to make beer if they don’t already know.”

“... You do you.” Keith followed Shiro out of his room and watched the man walk down the hallway. He kind of wanted to follow him and make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, but he still felt kind of weird. Some kind of feeling deep in his guts that wasn’t sitting right with him. 

He was pretty sure that it was Tay-Lor. Hell he knew it was Tay-Lor. The alien had completely blown up at him, and for fair enough reasons. He kind of did imply that he was just doing something stupid and dangerous for the fun of it. It was almost hypocritical since he was always doing dangerous shit.

He knew he wasn’t going to feel better until he at least tried to apologize to him. Something he knew he sucked at. He groaned in annoyance and headed back to the clinic. He knocked quite loudly and waited a few seconds before he entered. The privacy curtain was still up but there was a lot of argument coming from behind it from Tay-Lor and Ray.

“If you don’t stop squirming I will stab you in the eye with a screw!” Hissed Ray.

“You do that and I’m punching you in your ganglomalingra!”

“Ha! Jokes on you! I had that removed when I was a child!” 

“Just shut up and hurry up! I want to sleep!”

“Sir, you’ve had all your medicine so all that bone hurty shit should be gone soon. If you’re gonna sleep you’re sleeping at home.” Keith cleared his throat to get their attention. Ray quickly poked his head out and stared at him in surprise. “Ah, it’s you. What do you want?”

“Um, I kind of wanted to talk to Tay-Lor?”

“Hmmm, now is not the best time.” Said Ray. “Come back in-” He was suddenly yanked back behind the curtain.

Tay-Lor growled in a dark voice. “Less talking more putting my mask back on.”

“Fine. Mr grouchy…” Grumbled Ray. There were a few mechanical drill sounds and something that sounded like it was getting cranked in place. Ray suddenly threw back the curtain with a dramatic flourish. “The asshole, he is re-masked!”

Tay-Lor had his mask back on and he was busy pulling on his pants that might as well be tights they were so, well, tight. Keith couldn’t help but notice the dozens of cuts and animal bite marks that covered those legs. It was worse when it got to his arms and chest. Though that was quickly gone when he pulled a long sleeved shirt over his torso. When that was done he got back into his exoskeleton and looked over at Keith.

“What? You’re a soldier right? Never seen battle scars before?”

“Um…”

“Come on bright eyes, what do you want?”

“Oh I um-”

“-Take your lovers quarrel outside!” Whined Ray. “My clinic is a place of science! Not whatever the fuck is going on between you two.

Keith blushed a little and was about to say something when Tay-Lor grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the clinic, practically throwing him up against the wall in the hallway. “Spit it out.” Growled Tay-Lor. “What are you doing here? Come to bitch and whine and complain about how what I’m doing is stupid or something?”

“Wh-what? No!” Said Keith quickly. He was becoming pissed, but he wasn’t meant to get pissed at the moment. He was trying to be calm and smooth things over with him. “Look, I said some stupid shit before and you’re right.”

Tay-Lor was quiet for a few seconds, seemingly shocked by what he said. “I’m sorry, but what did you say?”

“You’re right.” Said Keith. “I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know what you went through or why you do what you do. You could just be pissed off at all the racist shit heads you work with or it could just be your personality. I don’t know… But I can understand doing shitty things for stupid reasons… My life hasn’t really been all sunshine and roses.”

Tay-Lor leaned in close to him, seeming to peer into his soul through the blacked out eye sockets of his mask. “So fucking what?”

“... Huh?”

“Why the fuck hould I care if your life has been shitty or not? Your mummy didn’t cuddle you enough? Daddy didn’t love you? At least you fucking have a life. If you didn’t remember, I don’t remember shit. If you want pity you’re looking in the wrong place. Fuck you.” The practically spat out that fuck you as they turned and walked away.

Now Keith had a short fuse. A really short fuse. So short it might not even really be there. He had been working on it but Tay-Lor just lit it and set him off. Before Keith even realised he was doing it he punched Tay-Lor in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor.

“Fuck you!” He snapped. “I’m trying to apologize for fucking up and pissing you off but no! You can’t take an apology from someone because you're an angry and bitter asshole that’s completely self destructive! Fuck off!”

Tay-Lor sat up with his hand on the back of his head. He didn’t know if he had broken the alien, royally pissed him off, scared him, or a weird combination of it all. They were just there in the hallway staring at each other for what seemed like forever before Tay-Lor spoke up.

“... Want to get a drink with me? I’ll pay.”

***

Pidge sighed as they continued to look through the footage of the fight. Weird shark thing aside, there was just something about the way that Tay-Lor moved that really, really bugged her. She had recruited Hunk into helping her figure out what was off about the fight. Neither of them were sure of what they were meant to be looking for, but they were looking for it.

“... I got nothing Pidge.” Muttered Hunk. 

“Well keep looking.”

Hunk sighed and leaned his head against the mattress. “Look, The fight gave me a weird feeling too, but I think we both got different weird feelings from it. I kind of got a more; I’m gonna vomit. Kind of feeling.”

“Well I got a; There’s something weird about Tay-Lor. Kind of feeling.” She kept playing the part where Tay-Lor made that shark appear. It was some kind of shark, like it wasn’t a real shark that she had seen before. Sure they called it a megalodon but it was just a really big shark. The shark thing could have been from any planet though. Earth wasn’t the only place with shark-like things.

They read a few articles on spirit projection once she figured out what this planet’s version of wifi was. It was an interesting read. Despite a few inconsistencies, most of the scientists on Dotra believed that spirit projections took the form of animals that they had a connection to. They frowned and kept looking at Tay-Lor’s spirit projection over and over again. They didn’t get it. They felt like this was some big key to a puzzle.

They felt a tap on their shoulder and almost dropped their comms pad. “What?!” The squeaked.

Hunk moved back a little with their hands up. “Whoa, calm down there. You looked like you were going to blow a fuse.”

“... Sorry.” Pidge rubbed their eyes and sighed heavily. “I just… There is something weird about Tay-Lor, and it’s not just because he’s an alien. It’s something else and I have no idea what it is… It’s infuriating.”

“I know.” Hunk picked up the pad and went to turn it off when he paused and frowned at the image. “... Hey Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

“You know all that stuff about Disney putting subliminal messages in their movies?” Asked Hunk. “Stuff like the word Sex appearing in places for a few seconds?”

“Yeah? Did you see some wispy thing that says sex?”

Hunk shook his head and showed them the paused image of Tay-Lor getting strangled with the start of the spirit projection thing. It was… it was weird. It kind of looked… It was hard to say. It might have been a bear? A cat?

Pidge took it back from Hunk and zoomed in as best they could and played it all frame by frame. Slowly, slowly, slowly they managed to get a few kind of clear images of a kind of thing that might have been a lioness? A few more frames later it kind of morphed slightly into a kind of person or an angel thing? Then it became the giant fish. All together it was only seven or eight frames between the animal and the person before it became a shark.

“... Okay. We have more puzzle pieces, but what does it mean?”

Hunk shrugged. “Well I read some stuff about spirit projection and it’s not uncommon for someone to do multiple at once before it settles on one form? So maybe those things might have been important to Tay-Lor before he lost his memories?”

“I guess…” Pidge groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. “Fuck. This is annoying… If I was connected to the castle ship’s database directly I would have figured this out already!”

***

Tay-Lor had taken Keith to some weird looking, hole in the wall bar. There was a line, but Tay-Lor just walked up to the bouncer at the front and he let him and Keith in, no questions asked. They ended up in some kind of weird pristine lobby. The only things in there were two doors and a neulite in fancy clothes behind a desk. They smiled brightly at them.

“Hello Tay-Lor. It’s so nice for you to come back again. We all missed you. I see you brought a guest with you today?”

Tay-Lor chuckled and nodded. “You know it. You know my size and I’d say that he’s…” He looked over at Keith for a second. “Two clicks bigger than me.”

They nodded and happily typed away at something on their desk and nodded. “All sorted. Please proceed through those doors. Once your masks are on please come back out here and I will buzz you in.”

Keith didn’t quite understand what was going on, but followed Tay-Lor into the room the person at the desk gestured to. There were five small booths with a curtain set up. They kind of reminded Keith of voting booths. He watched Tay-Lor walk up to one and pulled the curtain shut behind him.

“Get into one of the booths.” Said Tay-Lor. “Then put your mask on.”

“... Okay?” Keith stepped into a booth and pulled the curtain shut behind himself. As soon as he did a panel opened up in the wall. Inside the panel was a mask made of soft, but firm material. Keith assumed that this might have been an animal of some sort, but didn’t know what kind. He put the mask on and very carefully adjusted the straps to keep it on his face. When he had it fitted properly Keith noted how surprisingly light it felt on his face.

He stepped out and waited for Tay-Lor. He took a little longer than Keith did, but he had a very complicated mask to take off. When Tay-Lor came back out he was wearing a similar looking mask, but a slightly different design. He looked over Keith and nodded approvingly before he walked back out to the neulite behind the desk. 

They smiled happily at them. “You and your guest look wonderful Tay-Lor. Will you be out on the main floor or are you interested in a VIP lounge? We have three available right now. One of them is your regular one.”

“Good. I’ll take that.”

“I’ll let Waryar know immediately.” The said with a smile. “Would you like your usual service too?”

Tay-Lor paused for a moment before looking over at Keith. “Just drinks and some orange spice tonight thanks. Don’t need the other thing.”

They nodded and hit a buzzer, unlocking the other set of doors. “Please enjoy your stay at the Masquerade.”

Keith followed Tay-Lor through the doors and into a room bathed in purple and blue lights. Loud music was playing and people were dancing on a huge dance floor. Some people were just sitting on lounge chairs and sipped fancy cocktails. It was interesting how classy the place seemed while still being like rave. Everyone, apart from the workers, were wearing similar masks to him and Tay-Lor.

Tay-Lor lead Keith towards a bulky looking person standing in front of a velvet rope. The man, possibly Waryar, grinned and pulled Tay-Lor into a hug. “Tay! Long time no see! Didn’t think you’d be back after that fight you were in. Well, at least not for a while…”

“Ah, I wasn’t beaten up that bad.” Said Tay-Lor. “Is our lounge free?”

“Oh course, go in. A waitress will come by later to get your drink order and anything else you want.”

“Thanks. Come on Keith.” Tay-Lor took him back to a lounge far off in the corner. It was a nice L shape and it was right by a fish tank filled with colourful fish and plants. Tay-Lor flopped onto the couch and sighed happily. “So nice…”

Keith nodded a little and sat down near him and just looked around. This was different. He kind of expected Tay-Lor to take him to some shitty dive bar. Not something like this. He asked Tay-Lor a few questions about the bar and he was quickly filled in.

All patrons wear masks. This is because everyone is either a bare face, half mask, or full mask. This place was meant to be a place to relax and throw away their stupid mask hierarchy. He, not being a neulite, was still subjected to prejudice so he got a VIP membership. As it turned out there was more racism in his line of work than the average neulite did. Everyone at the club was really happy to have him around. Possibly because he tipped pretty well and didn’t make much of a fuss for the staff. At some point during his explanation the waitress came by, took their drink order, and came back with their drinks.

Tay-Lor hummed happily as he drank something red. “Yeah, so long story short, I pretty much got the only job on the whole planet that was full of racist assholes.”

Keith shook his head and happily drank his yellow drink. “Of course you did.” Whatever was in these was kind of strong, or at least making him feel a little giddy.

“Yep.” He giggled and drank some more. “Just my luck. Luckiest guy on the whole of Dotra…” He nudged Keith with his foot. “So tell me about you. Tell me what makes Keith click? What did you get up to?”

“Saving planets and all that junk.” Said Keith. “What else do you wanna know?”

“Hmm…” Tay-Lor leaned his head back for a moment as he thought. “You into guys or girls?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Is that a common question to ask on Dotra?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Nah. Just thought I’d ask since gender is like, super fluid here. It’s more about presentation than what’s in your pants. Zell’s told me some species can be a little funny with that stuff. So I am curious. I like learning about other places and people and things…”

He leaned forward and picked up what looked like a cigarette off the table. The people here provided them with a lighter. Keith watched as Tay-Lor light up, lean back, and let out a few orange smoke rings. He offered it to Keith.

“Want to try a bit? Not sure what it’ll do to your species, but it relaxes me a lot.”

Keith shrugged and took it. He had dabbled in smoking before when he was younger, shitty forster homes were shitty, but he hated the taste and smell. He’d just try a bit. Let Tay-Lor know it wasn’t for him and go back to drinking. However, Keith found it didn’t taste too bad or made him feel ill. It was kind of nice.

He could hear Tay-Lor giggling like a child from his spot all sprawled out on the lounge. “Having fun there?”

“Oh shut up.” Chuckled Keith as he slowly slid down the couch. “You’re high as fuck.”

“We’re both high.”

“Is this even legal?”

“Fuck yeah it is.” Said Tay-Lor with a grin. “I can’t help it if I, an alien, get fucked up on things they don’t get fucked up on. Right?”

“Guess not.” Keith took another drag before he passed it back to Tay-Lor who happily took it.

“You never answered my question.”

“Hmm?”

“You like boys or girls? Something that can get knocked up or something that can’t?”

Keith shrugged. “I’m gay. I like dicks.”

“Cool. I like both.”

“Cool.”

They two of them talked some more as they were supplied with a steady stream of orange space weed and alcohol. It was kind of nice. It felt like forever since Keith had relaxed this much. He’d been so wound up about everything with no real outlet to get release, but this, this was good.

Somehow Keith ended up laying across Tay-Lor who was laying on the couch. They were down to their last space weed cigarette and had probably been there for a few hours. The other Paladin’s were probably wondering where he was, but he hadn’t gotten a message from any of them yet, so he was probably in the clear.

Suddenly Tay-Lor tapped Keith’s shoulder. He looked up and Tay-Lor pushed Keith’s mask up just enough to pull him into a kiss. Keith gasped in shock just as Tay-Lor exhaled, filling Keith’s lungs with his smoke. When they pulled back, Tay-Lor was grinning at him. 

“What? Sharing is caring.” He said.

Keith could feel his face burning. “Um… Is that… Is that a neulite thing?”

“Yeah? Oh, probably not a… What are you again?”

“Human.”

“Yeah, probably not a human thing.” They hummed a little and looked up at the ceiling. “Hmm… Well, you might be kind of annoying.”

“Hey.”

“And you have a bad haircut.”

“Rude.”

“And you didn’t appreciate that I shared the last of our cigarettes with you.” 

“You kissed me.”

“But, you do have a certain grizzled charm about you when you keep your mouth shut.” They looked at Keith for a moment and stroked his chin as if in thought. “... So you like men? Right?”

“Yeah?”

“Kind of done drinking and smoking?”

“Pretty much.”

“Got nothing better to do?”

“Nope.”

“Ever fucked an alien before?”

***

Coran sighed loudly to himself as he slowly spun himself around on his chair. While it was nice to have the castle ship to himself while not being attacked by the Galra, he couldn’t help but feel a little lonely. He missed talking to Allura and the Paladins. Sure he didn’t really understand what the Paladin’s were talking about, but he enjoyed it anyway.

He looked at Allura’s mice that were more than happy to try and cheer him up with their antics. Coran appreciated their efforts and fed them some treats that Hunk had made for them. It made them happy and it made Coran smile. He gave each one a small pat on the head and ate his own bowl of green food goo.

Half way through his bowl he heard a small ping from the computer, he had decided to eat in the main comms room so he could get into contact with Allura when there was a break in the storm. This particular ping indicated that more of the samples Pidge had taken had been categorized and catalogued. 

It had been a little tricky between the storm and all the new data coming in. It was tough, but rewarding. It looked like they had taken a sample of some kind of creeper vine thing with interesting properties.

“Ah, how peculiar.” Said Corna to the mice. “They have an interesting sticking property. Kind of like the leaves of the brackforma trees on planet Draagard.” The mice gave him a confused look. “It’s a planet in the Welleu galaxy.”

The computer suddenly pingged again. Which startled him a lot. The break in the storm must have been bigger than he had anticipated. He happily looked to see what had suddenly been categorized. As it turned out they already had this on file;

**Kingdom;**  
_Animalia_

**Phylum;**  
_Chordata_

**Class;**  
_Mammalia_

**Order;**  
_Primates_

**Suborder;**  
_Haplorhini_

**Infraorder;**  
_Simiiformes_

**Family;**  
_Hominidae_

**Subfamily;**  
_Homininae_

**Tribe;**  
_Hominini_

**Genus;**  
_Homo_

**Species;**  
_Homo sapiens_

Coran was a little confused by this and quickly did a little bit of digging through the castle ship’s database to try figure out why the computer immediately pinged this compared to everything else Pidge had sent up. He chuckled a little when he realised why it was so familiar.

“Oh that’s right. The Paladin’s are humans and the scientific name for their species is homo sapiens. Guessing Pidge accidentally swabbed themselves or one of the other Paladin’s huh?”

He looked down at the mice who only seemed mildly interested. They continued to nibble at their food while snuggling up to each other. Coran grinned and looked back at the screen. He could have just chalked it up to Pidge making a small mistake, but then again, Pidge hardly ever made mistakes. He frowned a little and decided to look into it a little more.

He brought up the sample DNA and decided to run it against the other Paladin’s. Pidge was instantly ruled out since biologically Pidge was a girl and this DNA was that of a male. So it had to be Hunk, or Shiro. It couldn’t have been Keith because there wasn’t any Galra DNA in there at all. He ran it against Shiro’s DNA first. It had several markers, but there were several that were complete misses. Same story with Hunk. It was close, but not close enough.

This confused Coran a lot. It had to be one of the Paladin’s. It couldn’t have been anyone else. As far as he or anyone else knew Pidge’s family, Matt and Sam, had been accounted for and there were no other humans this far out in space. Just to be safe he ran the sample against Pidge’s DNA to to make sure if there was some kind of familial match. However, in the back of his mind he felt a little weird. Something was off. 

On a gut feeling, Coran ran the sample DNA against the only other sample of DNA they had. Coran’s heart leapt into his throat as he stared at the screen. He had to find a break in the storm and get in contact with Allura and the other Paladin’s as soon as possible.

**Match confirmed**  
_Lance McClain_


	11. Hookup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what people wanted so here you go. The hookup... with a stupid amount of angst because no, you cannot have nice things. For I am a jerk. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The two aliens had sobered up a fair bit by the time they got back to Tay-Lor’s apartment. It was surprisingly clean, much to Keith’s surprise. As he looked around Tay-Lor walked into his kitchen. “You want anything? A drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Keith continued to look around. It was nice. If Keith could get an apartment back on earth he’d probably want something like this. He looked over at Tay-Lor and watched him walk over to a section of wall and take off his exoskeleton. He stretched his legs a little before he stretched the rest of his body. His joints popped and cracked.

They looked over at Keith. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking since he was now wearing his full mask again. “... Are you still interested? I mean, just because you’re here doesn’t mean you have to… We have probably both sobered up a bit.”

“Well, yeah, my head isn’t as foggy as it was before.”

“Yeah… Probably not a good idea to fuck an alien anyway.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “Like, who knows I could have some weird alien STI or something… Though as far as I know I haven’t given anyone anything or have gotten anything…”

Keith nodded and continued to look around the room. There was a nice view of a park from his window. “So, you often bring people back here?”

“Nope. Usually it’s sex at the club.”

“... Seriously? It’s a club and a brothel?”

Tay-Lor shrugged and walked over to him. “Not like any of that stuff is illegal here, and some neulites are curious about the anatomy of aliens. Some want to see how weird it is. If it’s compatible…” He stood next to Keith and brushed some of his hair out of his face. “...Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Keith followed his fingers with his eyes as they slowly moved across his face, almost lingering. “And what makes you think we are compatible?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “We both vaguely have the same body type. Thought you might enjoy a warm body under you for a night. You seem very frustrated.”

“I do?”

They nodded. “Yep. You seem very frustrated when you punched me in the head so I thought we could do something to relieve that frustration. Drinks, drugs, and sex. Usually works for me if I don’t feel like training all night.”

“Huh…. Probably not the healthiest thing.”

“Probably not, but hey, better than other things I could do.” He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, slightly tilting his head to the side in a way that looks like he’s contemplating something. “Your hair is pretty. Reminds me of someone I used to know.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Tay-Lor dropped his hand from Keith’s hair and guided him to his bedroom. “But enough about that. We both know why we are here… Unless you’re gonna back out?”

“No I… I think I want to…”

Hearing his hesitance made Tay-Lor chuckle a little. “Let me guess, you’re the kind of soldier that doesn’t usually go out and have fun with the locals? You’re the kind of guy that would rather punch out his feelings?”

“... Maybe.”

Tay-Lor shook his head and pulled Keith onto his bed. “It’s fine. You’re not going to piss me off or anything if you want to back out… Have you not had sex before?”

Keith blushed and looked away. “N-none of your business.”

“Fair.” Tay-Lor sat back and took off his shirt. 

Keith couldn’t help but take a closer look at the others scars. White glowing stripes and dots across his body. It was kind of beautiful and Keith wanted to touch them. His inhibitions were still kind of lowered from the alcohol and drugs. He ran his fingers over Tay-Lor’s arm, noting the light dips and slight raises in the scar tissue.

“Basic training.” Said Tay-Lor. “When you’re a bare face and want to advance to a half mask you have to take a test. Hand to hand combat with a level one bladed weapon. You have to score a twenty or higher to pass. You get one point per cut on the other opponent but they have to be shallow cuts only. You lose points for stabs or deep cuts. I scored a thirty.”

“Impressive…” Keith’s fingers stopped at a bandage wrapped around Tay-Lor’s forearm. He frowned slightly, pretty sure if he got hurt it was from the mask off. “How hurt are you?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Most injuries from a mask off are around the head. I have some bruising and swelling around my eye and a bunch of small cuts, but nothing that won’t get healed in a quintant.” They pushed their hand against Keith’s chest, lightly picking at the material. “Show me what scars you have.”

“...” Keith took his shirt off. He didn’t have nearly as many scars as Tay-Lor did, but he still had his fair share. He shivered a little when Tay-Lor’s hand ran over his chest. Some of his fingers were kind of cold, but Keith chalked that up to them being his prosthetics. 

“How did you get these scars?”

“Mostly from fighting. I am fighting a war.”

“True.” 

Tay-Lor hummed and ran his hands over Keith’s shoulders, brushing up against a few scars on his shoulders. He seemed to be transfixed with just touching Keith’s body in an almost curious way. Keith wasn’t too sure what to make of it. Maybe Tay-Lor was just captivated by him because they did have similar bodies? He didn’t really mind the curious touches since his mind still felt kind of foggy.

Keith reached over and touched Tay-Lor’s mask, wondering how he could take it off. Tay-Lor moved his hands to Keith’s wrists. “What are you doing?”

“Taking your mask off.” Said Keith. “You aren’t going to keep it on during sex are you?”

“Yes?”

“...”

“... Why would I take it off?”

“It just seems kind of weird keeping it on.”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I’d prefer it if people don’t see my face… For just a one night stand it feels too intimate to let people see something so… If it’s a deal breaker for you then-”

“No it’s fine… I just thought I’d see your face…”

The alien chuckled, rubbing his thumb over Keith’s bottom lip. “Maybe if I had a promise of something more than a hookup I would consider it, but once you guys are off world we won’t have any communication. No need to really pursue each other after tonight, right?”

“I guess…” Of course this was just a hookup. What was Keith thinking? What would he even get out of this? His mind must have been still affected by whatever was in the orange space weed. In the end this was just going to be some physical thing.

“Yeah…” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “But think about it this way; with a mask on you can pretend I’m whoever you want. Won’t even get upset if you moan someone else’s name.” He lightly tugged at Keith’s pants. “Anyway, enough about that. I want to see what a… What’s it called? Human? I want to see what a human has down there.”

***

Tay-Lor enjoyed how flustered Keith was getting with him. It was a nice change to the usual people that would just strip him and fuck him. Some were a little more cautious since he was an alien and they weren’t sure what they were doing with him, but in the end everyone was always too rough with him. The sex was good but he was always covered with scratches and bruises.

However, it didn’t seem like it would be that way with Keith. Keith was different. Maybe it was a human thing to be a little bashful about sex? It was cute. He watched as Keith sat back on his knees and pulled down his pants. 

Keith was… Well, Tay-Lor wasn’t disappointed. He assumed Keith was a decent size for a human. If anything it would be more comfortable than getting fucked by a neulite. If anything Tay-Lor was surprised by how similar their anatomy was. Tay-Lor also removed his pants and let Keith drink in his appearance. He also seemed a little surprised by the similarity in their anatomy. 

“Huh…” He muttered. “That’s… Surprisingly normal.”

Tay-Lor couldn’t help but laugh. “What did you expect?”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know… Tentacles? Something with more bumps on it?”

“You’re a dork. Come here.” He lied down, pulling Keith on top of himself. “If you need lube it’s in the drawer. Purple glowy stuff.”

“Right… So is there-”

“-I only have one place you can stick it.” Said Tay-Lor quickly. “You can’t really screw it up.”

“Right… Right…” Keith reached over and grabbed the lube and coated his fingers. He glanced back up at Tay-Lor before he quickly looked away. Maybe the mask thing really was a big deal to humans?

“...” Tay-Lor quickly moved and rolled onto his stomach before Keith could do anything. “Here. This position might be better for you. I know my mask has been pretty off putting to you Paladin’s, so this might be better?”

“Yeah…” He felt one of Keith’s slicked fingers against his puckered hole while he felt Keith’s other hand ran down Ta-Lor’s back, pressing against his shoulder blades. “What happened here?”

Tay-Lor smirked. “It’s a secret.” He knew what scar Keith was talking about. He had a large burn on his back that looked kind of like a star burst. He hadn’t gotten that burn when he crash landed. It had been with him long before that. 

But he didn’t have much time to think about that when Keith started to finger him. It was already so much better than using his own fingers or someone else doing it to him. Keith already had him moaning after a few seconds. Tay-Lor couldn’t stop the steady stream of moans that grew higher and higher in pitch as Keith slowly opened him up. He hardly noticed when Keith added more fingers.

Keith curled his fingers and brushed up against something inside him that made Tay-Lor see stars. He whined loudly and pushed back against his fingers. He wanted to feel that pleasure again, but Keith wasn’t touching him there again. He seemed to be actively avoiding it.

“C-come on Keith!” Whined Tay-Lor. “P-please! I need it! Please I-” He suddenly felt very empty as Keith removed his fingers and lightly pressed the tip of his cock against the rim of Tay-Lor’s needy hole. Keith was a tease. He pouted and tried to push back onto him, but Keith wouldn’t let him. “Do I have to beg more?”

“Hmm, maybe.” Said Keith in a mildly smug voice. It annoyed Tay-Lor to no end.

“Fuck… Please Keith. Please fuck me.” Begged Tay-Lor. “I need you, please!”

Keith slowly pushed into him. Tay-Lor groaned as he slowly pushed back. When Keith bottomed out they both stilled for a moment, panting heavily. Tay-Lor had been full before, way fuller than this. But this was the first time he still felt comfortable when being filled so much. He felt Keith’s arms wrap around his hips and he started to thrust into him. Their grunts and moans filled the air as Keith quickly picked up the pace. 

With a slight angle shift Keith hit that same spot inside Tay-Lor that made him see stars. He wasn’t sure if he screamed but Keith started drilling into that spot over and over again. “K-Keith!” He whined. “I-I fuck!” Tay-Lor’s legs shuddered as he came.

Keith thristed a few more times into him before Tay-Lor felt Keith’s hot cum filling him. The Paladin groaned as he pressed his forehead against Tay-Lor’s back as he came. “Fuck, Lance…” He moaned.

The two fell onto the mattress in a boneless heap. Sex with Keith was good. Tay-Lor decided he liked sex with humans more than neulites. Even if they didn’t get his name right. Tay-Lor was just happy with the prospect of being able to walk around and sit down the next day after sex without feeling sore or slightly sick.

“... Fuck, I’m sorry…” Muttered Keith. 

Tay-Lor frowned and looked over at his night’s lover. “Hmm?”

“I shouldn’t have said his name… It just slipped out. Shit…” Keith seemed uncharacteristically distraught.

This worried Tay-Lor a lot. He gently touched his arm in an effort to try and comfort him. “Hey, It’s okay. I’m used to it. Hardly anyone that’s fucked me calls my name. Really. I don’t mind you called out the name of your dead teammate.”

“... I still shouldn’t have said that.” Muttered Keith. “I shouldn’t… He’s dead. I shouldn’t feel that way about him…”

Tay-Lor sighed a little. He didn’t expect to play the roll of therapist so soon after fucking, but it wasn’t like it was the first time. He didn’t understand people getting so emotional after sex, but he’s do his best to listen and offer advice he was in no way qualified to give.

“Were you two dating before he died?”

“God no.” Muttered Keith. “He… He had a crush on me. A really big one… I didn’t find out about it until he was already dead…” Keith rolled onto his back and slung his arm over his eyes. “You know what a vlog is, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well Lance used to make vlogs. He made at least one a day since we came to space and he figured out how to.” Said Keith. “He… When he died Pidge archived his vlogs. I was a little curious and I… Before he died he pulled some stupid prank and we all got hurt. I wanted to see that vlog where he talked about it just so I could feel vindicated about being pissed off at him.”

“I’m guessing you found something else?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah… I-I found the vlog I was after. The one for the day before and he was… He was excited. He was talking about a manual he found for the castle ship’s training deck and he finally figured out how to run a group simulation. He had most of it ready, he just needed to adjust the difficulty of the training bots, but he’d do that tomorrow and then show Shiro and Allura what he’d been doing… Apparently he’d been making his own training simulations for phoebs…”

“He sounds like a pretty smart guy.” Said Tay-Lor. He reached into his bedside table and took out an orange spice cigarette. He lit up and took a drag. “So I’m guessing it went wrong?”

“Oh yeah. It nearly killed us.” Said Keith. He saved it in the wrong file and we all lost it at him. None of us knew he actually knew what he was doing. We thought he was just fucking around with Altean technology… I told him he never thinks… That he was fucking stupid.”

“Rough… Was he going to try and make a specialised training routine just for you?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Something like that to try and impress you?” 

“Yeah… In his next vlog, one of his least ones he had a small breakdown.” Admitted Keith. “He was trying to keep it together but he was going on about how everyone hated him. How Hunk and Pidge were looking at him like he was a completely different person. How Shiro was never going to trust his judgement and second guess him. How Allura and Coran wouldn’t trust him to be by himself anymore… How he’d never be able to confess he likes me because he knows I will always hate his guts.”

“Guess that little confession about liking you made you look at all his other vlogs?” Asked Tay-Lor. 

Keith nodded. “Yeah… I was confused and looked through his vlogs… Every. Single. One. It took forever but I did it… He went from thinking we were rivals to thinking that maybe he doesn’t hate me, to thinking maybe he wants to be friends, to realizing he has a huge crush on me. Fuck, in his later vlogs Lance was going through ideas on how he could confess that he liked me without me potentially getting pissed off at him.”

Tay-Lor’s heart went out to this Lance guy. Just some poor guy that fell for someone and didn’t know how to express his feelings. There were dozens of shows he had binged on while getting super high with similar plot lines. Apparently this was a favourite romance trope among the neulites.

“I don’t mean to sound like an asshole.” Said Tay-Lor. “But what does Lance’s unrequited crush on you have to do with you feeling like shit for saying his name when you came?”

Keith let out a pained laugh. “Yeah… This is the most pathetic part out of all of it… After watching those vlogs and hearing how he felt, I… I started to fall for him. I’ve fallen for a dead man that I’ll never see again. I’m so fucking pathetic…”

“... That’s rough.” Tay-Lor didn’t really know what else to say. There wasn’t really much he could do to make Keith feel better. It was horrible figuring out you were in love with someone who suddenly vanished from your life forever. He wondered if there was anyone in his past like that. He offered Keith his cigarette and the other man took it.

“Thanks…” He took a few quick puffs. It seemed to calm him down slightly. “Pidge made an AI of Lance on the castle ship.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. They made it so we could say goodbye to him.” Said Keith. “She programmed the AI so it would know it’s an AI and is okay with being a copy of the original… Hunk and Pidge have said their goodbyes. So have Shiro, Allura, and Coran… But I… I don’t want to lose him now that I know how I feel about him…”

Keith passed the cigarette back and Tay-Lor took a long drag. That was pretty heavy. Keith had a lot more issues going on with him than Tay-Lor thought. Then again that was probably a normal amount of problems to have. Tay-Lor didn’t remember if that was normal or not. His biggest worries included; Princess Flos wanting to marry him, full masks trying to kill him in an Empress approved death match, and what he was going to eat for dinner the next night.

Tay-Lor patted Keith’s head. “When I was coming to terms with the fact that I might never remember anything about who I was, Zell told me something. Something I will never forget.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Ze zar gotra toh donabar ze zimmadar.”

“... And that means what?”

Tay-Lor chuckled. “Roughly translated it says; All rivers flow downstream no matter how many rocks fall in.”

“And that means?”

“It means no matter what has happened in the past you’re always going to move forward.” Said Tay-Lor. “In other words, it’s time for you to accept that Lance loved you but nothing will ever come of it. You have to keep moving on with your life. You might remember that rock falling into your river, but in the end it was just a rock. No point worrying about things you can’t change.”

“... Do you feel that way about your memories?”

“Yep.” He took one more drag before he passed it to Keith. “When I first woke up I was so scared and wanted to figure out who I was but I… I have one or two memories or warm places with people that might have been family or friends, but they are really blurry… Those memories are few and far between compared to my darker memories. Whoever I was before I came here is not someone I want to be again.”

“Why?” Asked Keith between puffs. “What was so bad about before?”

“In my memories, from what I can piece together, I am a screw up.” Admitted Tay-Lor. “I’m not someone to be proud of. I’m a mess. A complete piece of shit… I doubt anyone cares that I’m gone. Heck, even if they did care it’s been a few years. They probably think I’m dead anyway…”

“You never know…” Said Keith quietly. “When Pidge figures out what species you are we can take you back to your planet. If you like?”

Tay-Lor had often wondered what his home planet was like. He hoped it was warm and sunny. He hoped it didn’t have a huge storm surrounding it all the time. He wanted it to be a lot calmer than it was on Dotra.

“No thanks.” He said. “I’m happy staying here.”

“Really?” Asked Keith. “But they treat you like shit.”

“Only a few people treat me like shit.” Corrected Tay-Lor. “No matter where you go in the universe there are always going to be people who treat you like shit for no reason. I have a comfortable life here.”

Keith didn’t look convinced, but it wasn’t like he could really tell what he was thinking when he couldn’t see his face. “Hey, Tay-Lor?”

“Yeah?”

“My arms feel really heavy…”

“Yeah, that’s normal.” He took the cigarette from Keith and stubbed it out. “It’s easier to just sleep it off. We’ll deal with getting you back to the palace tomorrow.”

“Hmm… Okay…” Keith closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

It made Tay-Lor smile. Keith was not used to orange spice at all. He’d be out of it for hours. Tay-Lor ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and felt his heart flutter slightly. His hair was beautiful. He didn’t know much about Keith, but he could see how this Lance guy could have fallen for Keith. If they had some more time Tay-Lor could see himself falling for him too.

Tay-Lor sighed sadly. Soon the Paladin’s would be gone and Tay-Lor would go back to living his life. The Paladins would just be another rock in his river.


	12. On the road again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just being a tease at this point. No way around it. I am a massive tease. Also, bonus points if you can tell me the name of the band Tay-Lor(Lance) is singing. Double points if you know the song too. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Keith woke up with a headache. It took him a moment to remember where he was and what he had done the previous night. It made him blush. He blamed whatever was in the space weed that made him spill his guts to Tay-Lor. It was so embarrassing. 

Speaking of Tay-Lor, Keith looked over to see that the alien wasn’t there anymore. He frowned a little and got up, quickly pulling on his clothes. He doubted that Tay-Lor just went and left. But then again he really didn’t know how they thought.

Keith made his way towards the kitchen and started to smell the familiar scent of cooking. Whatever was cooking smelled kind of sweet and salty. Keith stood in the doorway and watched Tay-Lor standing in front of his stove as he cooked away. They were quietly humming away a tune as their food sizzled and fried away.

It was kind of nice to see him being so domestic. Tay-Lor looked like he was in his element for whatever that was worth. He just seemed happy humming to himself and cooking. Though Keith did notice he did seem to quickly change what he was humming every few seconds. It was kind of like listening to a record skipping.

Suddenly Tay-Lor quietly seemed to sing along with what he was humming. “You’re a regular decorated emergency. The bruises and contusions will remind me what you did when you wake. You’ve earned your place atop the ICU’s hall of fame. The camera caught you causing a commotion on the gurney again...” He paused for a few ticks before his shoulders slumped and he started to hum a different tune.

“What were you singing?” Asked Keith.

Tay-Lor looked over at Keith and shrugged. “Nothing much. I sometimes remember bits and pieces of music from my past. Who knows? Maybe I was musical or something? I don’t know… Anyway, breakfast.” He put a plate of something that looked like purple flat bread, cut up pieces of something that might be fruit, and something that looked like rectangle pieces of meat.

“Thanks.” Keith ate the food. He kind of liked it. 

They ate in relative silence before they headed back to the palace. There was surprisingly minimal fuss about it too. Keith half expected Shiro to scold him for running off. Shiro did ask him where he ran off to, but didn’t ask too many questions when he said he was drinking with Tay-Lor and ended up at his place. 

“I’m just glad you didn’t get into a fight.” Said Shiro.

Keith just rolled his eyes. “You really don’t trust me that much do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that I know you.” 

Keith would have retorted but that thought quickly left him when he realised how quickly everyone was running around the palace. It was busy. Way different from yesterday. “Um… What’s going on?”

“A thing called the midnight glow festival.” Said Shiro. “I don’t know if you were paying attention at dinner the other night but it’s the day they honour their dead. They look like they are really getting into it. It’s best if we just stay out of their way.” He quickly pulled Keith back as two neulites ran past them carrying a large pole.

“Agreed.” Keith looked around the hall and saw Tay-Lor talking to Zell. 

Seeing him talking so casually kind of stung. He felt a pang of guilt twisting in his stomach. He didn’t really know how to feel. The whole experience seemed surreal now. The only thing that grounded Keith and made him believe what happened was real and not some kind of fever dream was the fact that Tay-Lor was very slightly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“You crushing on Zell or something?” Asked Pidge.

Keith almost jumped out of his skin. He still didn’t understand how she could still sneak up on him. “Pidge! WHen did you get here?”

“I have always been here.” She wedged herself between Shiro and Keith. They were looking at their comms pad. From the looks of it they were looking at stuff about spirit projecting. “I have come to the conclusion it was a shark of some sort. I still don’t know what kind, but it was a shark.”

Keith shared a confused look with Shiro. The older cleared his throat. “... Alright? A shark huh?”

“Yep. I swear it’s a shark and I-” An icon suddenly lit up. “-Oh Coran’s got a connection.” They quickly tapped out of that and tapped to pick up Coran’s call. The feed was very fuzzy and it was difficult to make out words or even visuals. It seems like the signal was extremely weak.

_“Pidge!”_ They said with excitement. _“I scanned the sample you sent and it’s-”_ The fuzzy snow of static took over for a few seconds. _“-I couldn’t believe it myself when I saw it!”_

“You’re cutting out Coran.” Said Shiro.

_“Ah, number one! Good to-”_ More static. _“-And well we all know how that goes.”_

Pidge rolled her eyes. “My sample Coran. What about my sample?”

_“Oh yes! So I-”_ Static. _“-Which got me thinking. Maybe I should send-”_ Static. _“-As Allura always says-”_ Static. _“-Which is a whole other kettle of rudalum.”_

This was giving Keith a headache. “Coran, you’re breaking up. Get straight to the point.”

Coran frowned a little and nodded. _“Right. Anyway, I sent-”_ Static. _“There is a beacon attached to the package so you can-”_ Static. _“Good luck Paladin’s! I think the-”_

The signal cut out for good and Pidge sighed in annoyance. “Okay… That’s fine… I guess we should go and find Allura? She’ll want to know what Coran’s gone and done.”

It was easy enough to find Allura. She was sitting in the garden with Hunk. They looked like they were talking about flowers. Maybe Hunk had found out some were edible and they were talking about teas or something? He wasn’t sure.

Pidge quickly filled the two of them in about Coran contacting them and sending them something. It could have been medicine since Coran just had to send it down after he scanned one of her samples. But considering he wasn’t freaking out and saying it was urgent it probably wasn’t that bad. Allura agreed with her and once Pidge locked onto the beacon they went to talk to the Empress about retrieving it.

The Empress brought up a map to help them pinpoint where their package had landed. It took a bit of fiddling, but they pinpointed it to a mountain range just on the other side of the jungle by Kar’s village.

“It’s right by the Laluna monastery.” Said the Empress. “I’d recommend a small party. The smaller the better. The wirrilum are migrating and it will be dangerous if you all go… and you will need someone to guide you so you make it there and back in one piece…” Suddenly her eyes lit up and she called an attendant over. They whispered something into their ear and they quickly ran off. “They will be fetching you a guide to help you.”

“Thank you Empress.” Allura turned to her Paladin’s. “It might be best for a party of two or one to go with them?”

“I think it will depend on what our guide says.” Said Shiro. 

A few minutes later the attendant came back with Tay-Lor. Keith’s stomach did a small flip and he felt that maybe they made eye contact, but he couldn’t tell.

Tay-Lor didn’t seem to notice him and instead kept his gaze on the Empress. “My Empress, you summoned me?”

“You know the way to the Laluna monastery pretty well, right?”

“I do.”

She gestured to the map. “The Paladin’s need to get to the dot on the map. What do you recommend?”

Tay-Lor walked over to the map and looked at it for a solid minute while he slowly tilted his head. “Well… Taking into consideration the time and the animals on the move… I’d just want to go by myself, but if I have to take one of the Paladin’s I’ll take one.” He looked over at the Paladin’s. “Keith. I’ll take Keith with me.”

Keith was surprised. “Huh? Why me?”

“You’re good with a sword.” Said Tay-Lor. “It compliments my fighting style. You’re short range and I’m long range. Besides, I’ve fought you the most out of the Paladins. I trust you to have my back.”

Keith could feel his face go a little red. Before he could speak the Empress smiled and clapped her hands. “Excellent. If you go down to the stables now we’ll have two mudlets ready for you to use and provisions. I hope there are no objections?”

Tay-Lor shook his head. “No my Empress. I shall make my way to the stables at once.” With that he turned and left the room. Ever the professional it seemed.

Keith took a little longer getting there. He had to get the coordinates and maps off of Pidge before he left which took some time. When he got to the stables he was surprised to see that these mudlets were kind of horse-like creatures, but they only had three legs that ended with elephant feet instead of hooves, and kind of had a face like a tapir. They looked at Keith and wiggled their snout in his general direction.

He quickly found Tay-Lor putting supplies on a second saddled mudlet. Said mudlet had tilted its head back and was letting out an annoyed death metal screech. “Oh shut up you whiny baby.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “Quit being such an ass or I’ll eat you or something.”

“Having fun there?” Asked Keith. 

Tay-Lor sighed dramatically. “Mudlets are very good, strong, animals… But they are temperamental sometimes.” He quickly finished securing the supplies and led the mudlets outside. “Okay, need a bit of a boost up onto your mudlet?”

“Yeah… How do I- oh shit!” Tay-Lor grabbed Keith and with a little jump he managed to get Keith up and onto the back of the beast. “And we’re here now!”

Tay-Lor laughed and happily climbed onto his own mudlet without any trouble. Though it did make an unhappy noise. Keith watched as Tay-Lor took hold of the reigns and gave it a small tug while making a clicking noise. It made the mudlet start walking forward. Keith copied him and his mudlet trudged after Tay-Lor.

It was surprising to Keith at how quickly they were able to get out of the city. They took some back roads and tunnels until they came to a dirt road. The two had been pretty silent the entire time. That was until Tay-Lor spoke up.

“Is it awkward because we fucked?”

“W-what?”

“I’m good at reading people.” Said Tay-Lor. “It’s one of my natural skills. You’re talking less than usual and you’re actively avoiding looking at my mask. Clearly fucking had some weird affect on you.”

“No I just…” Keith sighed. “I don’t usually do this kind of stuff…”

“It’s fine.” Said Tay-Lor calmly. “Really. Sex isn’t a big deal to me. Not like it ever leads anywhere… Though if I ever end up fucking Princess Flos I am pretty syre it’s going to lead me to the gillotuine…”

“Fun… Wouldn’t the Princess get angry at you if she finds out you’re sleeping around?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I don’t know how it is on your planet. But here we don’t really get that hung up about sex unless we’re in a commited relationship. After that if you sleep around the other has the legal right to gut you.”

“... Seriously?” Neulite society was brutal.

“Yeah… Besides if I knew you were going to get so bent out of shape over fucking me I would have just suggested we get blazed out of our minds instead.”

“...” Keith felt bad for making this awkward. “So um… Midnight glow festival huh?”

“Yeah. We probably won’t be back in time for it… The Laluna monastery is still really nice though. Should be a more subdued festival compared to the rest of the planet.” Said Tay-Lor. “We’ll stop at chief Kar’s place and we’ll look at your map again.”

“Right…”

They got back to Kar’s home with ease. The alien was very happy to see them again and was more than happy to let the boys stay in his home for the evening as they planned their next move. Keith wasn’t really sure what he was meant to do since Tay-Lor was the one that seemed to be planning everything.

He followed Tay-Lor to a room in the house and was surprised to see that it was an armory filled with different weapons. Lots of bladed weapons and some weapons that look like they might be guns of some sort. Tay-Lor picked something that kind of looked like a sniper. He looked down the sight a few times before nodding in approval and slinging it over his shoulder.

“So that’s what you meant by long range?”

“What did you think I meant?” Asked Tay-Lor. “You think I just used a crossbow or a bow and arrow? I mean, yeah, I can do that but I prefer a gun.”

“Fair enough.”

***

Pidge and Hunk were still trying to figure out what was going on with the spirit projection and it was infuriating. At least for Pidge it was. Hunk was trying to calm them down, but he wasn’t really getting anywhere. Shiro had to step in and take their comms pad away.

“Hey! I need that!” She whined.

Shiro shook his head. “Sorry Pidge no more screen time. It’s bad for your eyes.”

“... I already wear glasses. How much worse could my eyesight get?!”

“No need to make it worse.” 

The group had made themselves scarce while the neulites were busy making things happen for their festival. None of them really knew what they would do for the festival but they were all hoping no one else was going to die from it. They were just hanging out in a room filled with books and a few chairs. It didn’t seem like a library/ Perhaps it was a study of some sort.

“What do you think Coran’s sending us?” Asked Hunk.

Allura shrugged. “Possibly a tonic or an ointment. Like I said, it’s possible that one of the plant samples Pidge sent up were shown to be an irritant of somesort. He didn’t seem too freaked out when you talked to him?”

“He went on a tangent about radalum.” Said Pidge.

“Then I think we’re good. When we get a stronger signal we can confirm with him.” Said Allura calmly. “I have almost finalised things with the Empress and after Keith comes back with the package we should be able to go back to the lions and leave. After this we’re going to head for the Warimara federation to try and get them on our side. Many planets in the federation have sworn allegiance to Zarkon, but there are more and more starting to side with Voltron.”

Shiro nodded along as he leaned against a window frame. While he wasn’t the biggest fan of these diplomacy talks he knew it was vital to saving the universe. A glint of something green caught his eye and he looked out the window to see two neulites pushing a giant green crystal through the courtyard on a trolly.

“Huh. Wonder what that’s for?”

“What’s what for?” Asked Hunk as he looked out the window. As soon as he laid his eyes on the crystal he sucked in a breath and looked visibly shaken. “Hey Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

“Does that crystal look like that crystal?”

“That crystal?” Both Pidge and Allura went over to see what they were looking at. As soon as Pidge saw it she let out a panicked noise. “Oh fuck no! How big is that? It’s almost as tall as Shiro! Almost as wide too!”

“It’s just a crystal.” Said Allura. “What’s so worrying about it.”

“It’s not just a crystal!” Snapped Pidge.

Hunk nodded in agreement with them. “That’s a nuleum crystal. You know, the crystal that’s super fragile and unstable? The one that kind of blew up and killed Lance?”

“But like a thousand times bigger!” Snapped Pidge. “The crystal the Galra were using was smaller than the palm of my hand and it destroyed a warship! It just… What the hell are they doing?! They can’t just be wheeling something that fucking huge around! It could blow up half the planet! Hunk, give me your comms pad! I need to find out what this planet has to say about nuleum!”

“Can’t you use your own?”

“Shiro took it from me, remember?”

Shiro shook his head and handed it back to Pidge. She quickly snatched it and ran off to the other end of the room to do some research on the mysterious crystal. They might not have known much about it before, but on the planet where it came from there was bound to be way more information.


	13. The life and death cycles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter. Dumb and dumber are on the road again while Pidgy makes a horrible connection (horrible in context but it's all good). Also a racial/homophobic slur is dropped near the end so if you're sensitive to that fair warning. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The mudlets made annoyed noises as they trudged through the dirt path in the jungle. Apparently they didn’t like the look of the jungle and just wanted to whine and huff every few seconds. Keith didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Tay-Lor didn’t seem too bothered by it so he didn’t pay much mind to it.

“So... Kar was pretty nice letting us stay there again…”

“Yeah. Kar has always been like that.” Said Tay-Lor. Kar had let them spend the night at his place. The other full masks that were staying in the village were nice enough. They asked why they were around and what was going on in the city. After breakfast they were sent out on their way to the monastery.

“So… um… Anything I should keep my eye out for?” Asked Keith. He still wasn’t very sure what animals were out there and he really didn’t want to get surprised by anything.

“Just keep your ears out for anything that kind of makes a hissing noise.” Said Tay-Lor. “The mudlets are pretty good about beating the shit out of anything that comes in front of them that they don’t like.”

“Huh, alright.” Keith reached up and patted his mudlet’s neck. It made a sound which he assumed was a happy sound. But he wasn’t very sure. It suddenly leaned forwards and sneezed very loudly. “Oh shit!”

Tay-Lor laughed. “Just be thankful you didn’t get sneezed on. That would have been worse… Look over there.” He pointed at a small break in the trees. Off in the distance Keith could see something that kind of looked like a tower. “You see that? That’s the Laluna monastery. We’ll be able to leave our mudlet’s here. The rest of the way is going to have to be on foot. The mudlets won’t walk over some of the terrain we need to go to get to the beacon.

All Keith could really do was nod as they headed up the road to the monastery. It seemed to be made of some kind of mud or shells? He didn’t wasn’t sure. It was pretty though. There were a few neulites walking around outside wearing dark black robes with glowing white accents. They seemed to have painted their bodies with charcoal. 

One of them approached them. “Hello? What brings you two to the Laluna monastery? Does the Empress require some of us to come to the city for the festival?”

Tay-Lor shook his head. “Nah, you guys are good. Did you see my fight the other day?”

They nodded. “Ah yes. It was a riveting fight. We gave a moment of silence for Hirudinea when he died.”

“Yeah, so this is Keith. He’s one of the Paladin’s of Voltron. The Empress’s special guest.” Tay-Lor gestured to Keith who waved slightly at the neulite. 

“Nice to meet you.”

The neulite bowed, smiling slightly at him. “It is nice to meet you too. Might I ask why you two might be here? We are quite busy getting ready for the festival…”

“We just need a place to store our mudlets and maybe a place to rest our heads before we head back. Is that okay?”

“The mudlets should be fine, but I will have to ask the Sage if we can accommodate you.”

“Oh sure. No problem.” Tay-Lor gently rubbed his mudlet’s neck. “As long as the mudlets are taken care of it doesn’t matter. We can just sleep outside if you can’t find a spot for us.”

“Thank you for being understanding.” The neulite led the two of them around to their stables and happily housed their animals. The mudlet’s seemed very pleased to be back in a stable. They made a weird trumpeting noise, which got the other mudlets in their stables to make equally happy sounds.

The neulite then let them inside the monastery. There was a lot of white and purple light in the building. There were also a few strange looking green crystals that let off their own strange glow. The guy who ran the place, the Sage, was easy enough to spot. They were the only one whose robes had glowing gold accents.

Keith stood back and let the neulite and Tay-Lor talk to the Sage and organise what they wanted to do. Once it was sorted out, Tay-Lor bowed and happily left with Keith following quickly behind. The alien seemed really pleased with himself.

“What are you so happy about?” Asked Keith.

“They’ll have a room ready for us when we get back.” Said Tay-Lor. “They also said if we get back in time they might have some airmana for us.”

“... What?”

“Special sweet food they only make for the festival. You’ll love it.” Said Tay-Lor. “Now, bring up that map of yours so we can find that package your friend sent down.”

***

Pidge was very frustrated by everything. Her translator was practically useless since it wasn’t linked to the castle ship’s database. It was a massive headache trying to get into any webpage about nuleum. Shiro had told her to take a break, but Pidge was not having it. She would know their secrets.

“Are you like, okay?” Asked Prince Spinam.

Pidge sighed heavily. “I’m trying to find out what I can about nuleum, but I got nothing.”

“Oh, I can help with that.” He said. “I’m actually studying to be an Undertaker at the Hira-Jordo monastery over the other side of the planet.”

“... An undertaker?”

“Yeah.”

“Like as in the people that work with dead bodies?”

“Yep.”

“... And a person that works with dead bodies knows about nuleum because?”

The Prince rolled his eyes and happily led Pidge to a room that looked a little like a classroom. Along the way they found Hunk and the prince was more than happy to have him tag along. The classroom they were taken to had a few tables and chairs along with dozens of books and strange looking contraptions. It seemed like it was used for the Empress’s children, or maybe some of the staff’s children.

Spinam happily showed the two of them a book with a diagram showing the lifecycle of a nulite. “So, we go from a baby, to a child, adult, and then when we die we go through the death cycle; mummification, petrification, and then crystallization.”

“Wait, but you can’t mummify and petrify, can you?” Asked Hunk.

Spinam shrugged. “Well yeah, you need water and minerals to petrify, but we have burial caves that are pretty damp and are the perfect condition for petrification. I’m still learning about how the process works.”

Pidge frowned a little as they looked at the diagram in the book. “Huh… So, nuleum is pretty much just fossilised nulites?”

The Prince shrugged again. “I guess. We’ve found that when we crystalize we create a strange energy we can convert into energy. We have people donate their bodies to be used as power sources.”

“Well, that’s a thing.” Muttered Pidge. “So… I’m guessing you guys have a lot of nuleum?”

“Oh yeah. So much of it.” Said Spinam. “That’s the reason why we have Undertakers. We move mummified bodies to the burial caves so they can petrify and crystalize… Also we have to learn how to fight and take down anyone that tries to get into the burial caves. It’s disrespectful to all nulites and their families.”

“So what level would you say you are?” Asked Hunk. “Like, is an undertaker like a half mask? Full mask?”

“Something similar to a full mask in rank, but not a full mask.” Said Spinam.

Pidge nodded a little. “So, what about it blowing the fuck up?”

Spinam seemed a little surprised. “Oh… Yeah, I heard it can explode if it isn’t resonating at the right frequency… Never really seen it though.”

“Frequency?” Questioned Hunk. “Is there like some weird humming thing going on here that we can’t hear or something?”

“Possibly.” Said Spianam. “Zell and Tay-Lor can’t hear it, but we hear it as this constant low humming. When the nuleum is resonating at the right frequency it’s as stable as any other rock… Plus we try not to make nuleum explode… We don’t need wormholes and junk dropping everywhere.”

“... Wormholes?”

Spinam nodded. “Yeah. Some scientists have found that if we blow up some nuleum, depending on the size and what’s around it, it will make a wormhole, explode, or implode. It’s all pretty crazy stuff. I can see why other people would want to use it, but we really aren’t in the market for trading our dead for stuff. Like I said, if it isn’t resonating at the right frequency it’s bad.”

Hearing that made Pidge frown deeply. Given what the Prince had just said they had a sick realization. If Lance got caught in the explosion and they never found his body, even though they looked, was it fair to assume his body was somewhere on Dotra? If it was, there would be nothing but bones now, but he’d still be here. They wondered if Hunk had put two and two together yet. He didn’t seem like it.

Hunk was still talking to Spinam about the strange things nuleum could do and how a nulite corpse could even become a crystal in the first place. Hunk mentioned Balmera X-95-Vox where Shay and her family lived and how the planet was actually a giant, crystal producing creature. Prince Spinam seemed genuinely interested and happily listened to him.

Pidge just continued to think about what happened to Lance if he got caught in the explosion and landed here. Most of his armor had been blown off so he probably died on impact with any luck. It was awful to wish that someone who she considered a second brother was dead. However if he survived the impact he would have been in unimaginable pain before he died by either internal injury or by an animal ripping him apart.

The thought of Lance getting eaten alive and unable to fight back made her feel sick. She excused herself for a moment and walked out into the hallway to calm herself. Dotra could possibly be the final resting place of Lance. Crushed bones somewhere that no one knew about just scattered to the wind. 

She didn’t know what to do with this information. Should she tell Allura or Shiro? Would they try and find where his body might be? There was still a good chance that he was somewhere on the planet. Would they even consider staying a few more days just to check? She didn’t know.

***

“That’s a pretty big hole…” Muttered Keith. Tay-Lor and Keith had left the monastery and were walking through the jungle to find the package Coran had sent them. The quickest way to get where they needed to go was to go past a crater. Apparently it was what remained of a ship that passed through the atmosphere.

“Yep. Big hole.” Said Tay-Lor. “Wanna have a look? Most of the useful stuff got taken but you know, you might see something interesting that the neulites didn’t?” Without waiting for a reply, Tay-Lor happily bounced down to the wreckage. It was already getting overtaken by nature again.

Keith didn’t like the idea of a detour, but he was surprisingly okay with Tay-Lor taking a small detour. He watched as the alien jumped over things and picked up scrap pieces of metal. He also picked up a few bones too… Though for some reason he seemed to think Keith would know what kind of bones they were.

“You know what this is?”

“A bone?”

“Yeah, but what kind of bone?”

Keith shrugged. “A naked bone?”

“... How can a bone be naked?”

“It’s not wearing any meat. It’s naked.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. Well, Keith couldn’t see him rolling his eyes, but he knew he was. “Alright… Mr Smarty pants… But... what is this?” Tay-Lor picked up a piece of metal. “What’s this?”

“Metal.”

“... I will stab you in the eye with this.”

Keith rolled his eyes and took the metal off of him. There was a partial letter printed on it and it looked Galran to him. “... Maybe this is Galra?”

“How can you tell?”

“It’s part of the Galran alphabet.” Said Keith. “I think… It’s hard to tell… So maybe that bone you had before was a Galra bone?” 

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Maybe?” The alien continued to look around the crater while walking to the otherside.

There wasn’t really much to look at. He looked at the random bits of debris. Lots of metal. Some pieces or their robot guards and a few bones. Keith couldn’t really tell if the bones were from the Galra or if they were just some random animals that had just died in the crater.

He shook his head and decided to just watch Tay-Lor jumping around. He was really making full use of the pistons in his exoskeleton legs. It almost reminded Keith of an overly excited baby animal jumping around, or maybe a kangaroo? Either way Keith kind of liked watching Tay-Lor jumping around. He had some damn beautiful and sexy legs.

“...” Keith felt his face burn as he shook his head. It was just a hookup. Nothing more. Tay-Lor made it very, very clear it was just for fun. It wasn’t for anything more than physical gratification. He was overthinking this way too much.

He couldn’t help but feel damn pathetic. He still felt guilty and his mind was twisting a hookup into something that was something more. Keith couldn’t help it if he was touch starved and pinning after a dead man. 

“Hey Keith, you coming?” Called Tay-Lor from the edge of the crater. 

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Keith quickly moved to him. “Not all of us have spring powered piston legs.”

“Nah, you’re just a slow poke.” Teased Tay-Lor. “Now come on, we got a few varga’s of daylight before we have to think about setting up camp.”

“Yeah, we probably should think about who would take the first shift when we sleep huh?”

Tay-Lor smirked and lightly nudged him. “You afraid of getting attacked by something?”

“I have no idea what is happening on this planet.” Grumbled Keith. “Excuse me for being a little precautions.”

Tay-Lor just laughed and lightly tapped Keith’s helmet. “Whatever you say. Don’t get your mullet in a twist there Keithy.”

Keith glared at him. “It’s not a mullet! Wait… How do you know what a mullet is?”

Tay-Lor froze for a moment. “... I think Pidge or Hunk mentioned it was a human hairstyle? And that was what your hairstyle was called?”

Keith gave the alien a weird look. “Right… Pidge and Hunk never call me mullet… Only Lance did…”

“Oh… Sorry…” Muttered Tay-Lor. “I um… I thought it was just a nickname… Like I thought we could at least try and be a little buddy-buddy with each other since we’re going to be stuck with each other for a few days… Thought it was just a nickname you guys… A-anyway it doesn’t really matter. Sorry… I’ll just shut up now…”

“It’s fine…” Said Keith, though it really wasn’t. “So do you have a nickname?”

Tay-Lor shrugged and he checked his gun over. “Well, some people call me Tay, instead of Tay-Lor… And I guess some of the other neulites call me alien… but they say it like it’s an insult when they are referring to me…”

“... Tay’s nice.” Said Keith quietly. “I know what it’s like to be given shitty nicknames over something you can’t control… For a year I was in a home where I was called… Asian f-ggot by some of the other kids.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, you know how Shiro and I look more similar than Hunk and Pidge?”

“Yeah?”

“Well Shiro and I have parents or like, grandparents that came from a region called Asia, hence Asian. I’m also gay and one of the slurs people throw at gay people on earth is f-ggot… Though a f-g is also another word for cigarettes and a f-ggot is also technically a type of food… It all depends on the context, but they were making fun of me.”

Tay-Lor put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you went through that… It must have been pretty horrible.”

“Yeah, it was…” He sighed and put his hand on top of Tay-Lor’s. “But hey, that’s all in the past.”

“Yeah it is…” Said Tay-Lor. “... Okay, now I have my own personal mission. I’m going to find you a nickname. A new nickname. One that doesn’t make you feel like shit or something that makes you think of him…”

Keith smiled a little at Tay-Lor’s antics. “Sure, if you want.”

Tay-Lor fist pumped. “Heck yeah.”

“You’re a dork.”

“Nah, you.”

“No you.”

“You.”

“... You.”

The two glared at each other for a few seconds before they got into a stupid argument about which one of them was the bigger dork. Like the dorks they were.


	14. Music and mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested, (because I finally remembered what inspired me to make the whole planet kind of neon in the first place) the game Ori and the blind forest and the sequel; Ori and and the will of the wisps, were what I was thinking when I think of the jungle of Dotra. Like seriously it's so beautiful just check out some screen shots for it. It's perfection. Also, Keith shows off his award winning, charismatic personality... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The two of them ended up camping up on a tree branch for the night. Tay-Lor had told Keith it’s safer to be in the trees rather than on the ground. It was interesting camping up on a tree branch big enough for a car to drive down. Tay-Lor seemed comfortable enough and after a quick meal of some kind of food bar, the alien was out like a light.

It took Keith a little longer to fall asleep. He ended up staying awake for another hour just watching some alien fireflies gently bobbing around. Their glow slowly shifted between shades of red and pink. It was pretty. 

That night when Keith did sleep he dreamed of Lance. Something that he usually dreamed of these days. The dream was pretty much always the same. Lance was standing near him in the castle ship. He was talking, but Keith didn’t really hear what he was saying. Then at some point Keith would get distracted by something and Lance would vanish. Keith would spend the rest of the dream trying to find him. He never found him.

When Keith woke up, he saw Tay-Lor using a knife to very carefully cut some of the bark, scoop up some of the tree sap, and eat it. When he noticed that Keith was awake he waved at him. “Morning. Want a bit of an energy boost? It’ll save on supplies.”

“... Sure.” Keith walked over to him and took a bit of bark covered in bright blue sap, and ate it. It tasted like vanilla coke, but without the fizz. “Huh…”

“Pretty good right? Just don’t eat too much. You might get a stomach ache.” Tay-Lor happily scooped up a little more sap for himself before he supplemented it with a few pieces of dried meat. He offered some meat to Keith, which he happily took.

Keith looked over the map and figured out what the quickest route to the beacon would be. Tay-Lor quickly shut down that idea when he pointed out how there were certain dangerous animals that lived right in the path he was suggesting.

“You want something to crawl in through your tear ducts and live under your skin?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Because that’s what you’re gonna get.”

“Okay, we won’t go through the parasite place. How about here?”

“Nope. Hate rattatars. Their webbing is the worst.”

“Then what about here?”

“Better, but we would have to move fast. Tunnlers are assholes.”

Keith sighed. “Whatever. As long as we can get what Coran sent soon I don’t care where we walk…”

“That’s the spirit.” Tay-Lor patted his back for a few seconds before he shoved him out of the tree. Keith hit a few of the sticky vines that acted like a bungee cord when he fell. He ended up a few inches above the ground. Tay-Lor on the other hand just grabbed a vine. The bastard did a bit of a ribbon dance on the way down, and had to cut Keith down too.

“How do you do that?” Asked Keith. “Why aren’t you stuck to the vines too?”

“It’s my gauntlets.” Said Tay-Lor as he held them out for Keith to look at. “They are coated in a material that stops it from sticking. Very useful. Guess your armor isn’t coated with that stuff, huh?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

The two of them started to walk down the dirt road, and Keith quickly learned that Tay-Lor was a huge chatterbox once he was comfortable with someone. Which was kind of nice. Keith wasn’t a very big talker but he did like listening, and boy oh boy did Tay-lor like to talk about everything. He mostly talked about the plants and animals that they passed. Thankfully not everything wanted to just straight up murder them just because they saw them.

Eventually his jaw seemed to get tired. “So, tell me what is earth like? You said something about you growing up in a home? What’s that all about?”

Keith shrugged. “On earth, when you don’t have parents you get put into the foster system. Adults take in children for a time until they either adopt them or the children become legal adults… I pretty much grew out of the system, but because of my academics I got put into a government funded school called the Garrison… Then I punched the guy in charge in the face and got kicked out…”

Tay-Lor chuckled. “Sounds like fun, the punching part, not the no parents part… What happened with that?”

“My mum is a Galra spy and had to leave to protect me… My dad died in a fire.” Muttered Keith. “Humans don’t know aliens exist, but we have strong reasons to believe they are, but microbes are the best we think are out there.”

“Obviously not the case.”

Keith smiled a little. “Yeah. Clearly.”

“... Do you have anything on your little communicator thingy about earth?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Some pictures? A video?” He seemed quite excited to find out about Earth.

“Um, I don’t have any pictures, but I do have some music from earth.”

“Oooooo, Earth music. What kind of music do earthlings listen to?”

“We have a bunch of different genres.” Said Keith. He looked through what he had saved. It was a small playlist; **Songs to kickass and train to.** He didn’t know if these were really the best songs to introduce an alien to. Pretty much everything on his playlist was either rock or heavy metal. Things to pump him up for a fight. “Umm… You might not like what I have…”

“What do you have?”

“... Metallica, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold.”

Tay-Lor just looked at him. His expression, obviously unreadable. “I have no idea what any of that means.”

“They are the names of bands… When we next stop I’ll let you listen to some of them.”

“Awesome. You have to let me listen to your favourite song.” Said Tay-Lor.

“Sure.” Keith didn’t really have a favourite song. He’d find something for Tay-Lor to listen to.

Suddenly Tay-Lor stilled and raised his gun. This made Keith pause and take out his sword. Keith wasn’t sure what was going on, until he saw something that looked like a giant snake with red stripes etched into its body. He wasn’t very sure what was happening but he stayed still until it slithered off. Tay-Lor let out a small, sigh of relief.

“Okay, we’re good. It probably ate something already…”

“Guessing it would have gone after us if it was hungry?”

“Yep...” Tay-Lor slowly started to walk forward after the weird snake creature was gone. 

Keith followed suit. “So… What was that?”

“Wirrilum… And a juvenile at that.”

“... That was a baby?!” The snake thing was as big as an anaconda. It really freaked Keith out to know that there might be bigger ones like that out there.

Tay-Lor just nodded. “Yeah. Juveniles will go after us, but the adults don’t really give a damn about us because we’re so small. Not good eating.”

“Right…”

Tay-Lor shrugged and kept walking. He seemed a little more vigilant now. He stayed vigilant for a few more minutes before he relaxed. Whatever perceived danger was out there, Tay-Lor deemed it was gone. He quickly went back to talking about random stuff again.

They made it to a river. The fish in the river were glowing a soft green. They looked pretty. Tay-Lor pulled a branch off a tree and started to sharpen it into a spear. “Think you can start a small fire? I’m going to catch us some lunch.”

“Don’t we have rations for that?”

“Yeah, but what would you rather? A freshly caught and cooked meal, or something dehydrated and freeze dried?”

“Good point.” Keith started a small fire and watched Tay-Lor fish. 

The alien tossed a bit of feed into the water and quietly waited with the spear held back over his head. He was as still as a statue before he suddenly threw it in and pulled out a sizable fish. They made a pleased sound and quickly hit the fish’s head against a rock. He walked over to Keith and handed it to him. 

“Can you clean it and cook it? Keeping the scales on is fine. Just gut it.”

“Yeah, sure. I can do that.” Keith did his best to prepare the fish and stick it on a stick and cook it over the fire. 

Tay-Lor managed to catch another fish and a few things that kind of looked like eels. He let Tay-Lor take over cooking those. Their lunch was quiet and calming. They ate in relative silence and Keith happily looked over at a few doe looking animals over the other side of the river having a drink.

“Els.”

Keith looked over at the alien. “Hmm?”

“Els.” Tay-Lor gestured to the animals. “Els. Usually vegetarian, but they are more like opportunistic omnivores. If they can’t get their usual food they will take a bite out of someone. Very sweet though and kind of curious. If you stand still for long enough and they come over they will nuzzle you. Maybe even lick you.” 

“Ew, els spit.”

Tay-Lor laughed, spooking some of the Els away. “Yeah. Els spit is gross, but they are nice… Their pelts are really soft and highly sought after for newborns. Mostly because baby neulites have very sensitive skin for a few movements… Anyway, I’m going for a swim.”

“Wait, what?”

Tay-Lor stood up and started to undress. “Relax there Keith. We’re in dongoro territory. Big ass herbivores that beat the shit out of wirrilum. It’s a pretty safe here to just relax… Though dongoro don’t give a fuck and will step on you if you get in their way… Either way I’m going for a swim. You can join me if you like.”

Keith watched as Tay-Lor stripped down to his clothes, and then down to his underwear, and then nothing. The only thing he was wearing was his stupid mask. He felt his face go red as he quickly looked away. “I-I’m good. I’m just gonna stay here…”

“Suit yourself.” There was a splash and Keith glanced over to see that Tay-Lor had jumped into the water and was lazily swimming over to the otherside.

***

Tay-Lor did enjoy being with Keith. The Human was very interesting. Tay-Lor liked how embarrassed and flustered Keith would become. It was cute and Tay-Lor loved cute things. He couldn’t really express his love of cute things among other full mask’s since he was always seen as a blight in their midsts. Zell didn’t seem to care, but he was pretty neutral about what people did in their spare time, as long as they actually worked when they were on the clock.

He dived under the water and activated the rebreather in his mask and swam down to the riverbed. The glow of the algae and clumps of waterweed. It was pretty. Maybe Keith would actually like swimming in here with him? Maybe Keith couldn’t swim? Could humans swim?

Tay-Lor wondered if he could maybe teach Keith to swim? That would be fun, but it wasn’t like Keith would stay long enough to teach him how to swim. That kind of sucked. He’d miss Keith when he eventually left the planet.

He reammerged and shook his head, getting some water out of the cracks and crevices in his mask. He looked over at Keith to see he was staring at an els that was slowly walking towards him. They seemed to be having a staring contest. Keith was so focused on the smaller els he didn’t notice the adult that decided Keith’s hair was food and decided to give it a nibble.

As soon as it chomped down on his hair, Keith let out a yelp and flailed around while the two els quickly bolted back into the jungle. Tay-Lor couldn’t stop himself from laughing at Keith’s minor panic attack. He glared at Tay-Lor and stuck his middle finger up at him for some reason. Tay-Lor grinned and happily swam over towards him. When he started to get out of the water, Keith quickly looked away.

Tay-Lor couldn’t help but keep grinning at him, even though he knew that Keith couldn’t see him doing so. He liked provoking Keith and making him all embarrassed, so Tay-Lor sat across from Keith completely naked and spread his legs a little to dry off by the fire.

“You said you would let me listen to earth music?”

“Hmm? Oh, y-yeah…” Keith quickly fumbled with something on his communicator thing. Seconds later a strange screeching and thumping sounds was coming out of the small speakers in their armor. Someone might have been singing, but it was hard to tell. It was different… Tay-Lor didn’t really know what to make of it.

“Huh… That is… Different?”

“Yeah… Earth music is kind of different…” Keith still wasn’t looking at him.

“It is… So what was that piece called?”

“Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold.” Muttered Keith.

Those words meant nothing to Tay-Lor, but he just nodded along with what he was saying. He moved a little closer to Keith, just trying to rile him up a little. He could tell he was successful when Keith glanced over at him and almost jumped when he saw him getting so close.

Tay-Lor grinned at him. “You okay there Keith? You seem a little nervous. Are humans uncomfortable seeing someone naked?”

“I um… No?”

He didn’t seem too sure of himself, which just made Tay-Lor grin even more. He pressed the button on the side of his mask to make the lower half of his mask disappear. He rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder and grinned some more. 

“You know Keith, you are just too easy.”

Keith looked shocked for a moment before he quickly pushed Tay-Lor away. “Fuck off. Out of the two of us you’re the easy one. Just throwing yourself at whoever you think will fuck you, that’s gross. Put some pants on already.”

“...” Tay-Lor wasn’t expecting that. Maybe he teased Keith a little too much. To be honest it kind of hurt to hear another alien call him gross. By most neulite standards he was already considered a freak in almost every aspect. He kind of thought that since the two of them were similar physically than he wouldn't have to worry about that. Apparently he was wrong. Again. He got up and quickly pulled his clothes on. “We’ve wasted enough time here… I want to make at least ten more clicks before night.” 

“O-okay… Tay-Lor I-”

“Fucking save it Keith.” Hissed Tay-Lor. “You know, I might have sex every now and then, but at least I’m not the kind of guy that will call out someone else's name during sex. If you’re gonna pull shit like that then just walk away. You’ll save your own ego and not make your partner feel like second best.” He started to walk downstream. “Put the fire out and follow me. There’s some rocks we can use to get to the otherside.”

***

Keith fucked up. He fucked up really bad. He knew he shouldn’t have said something so hurtful to Tay-Lor. They had slept together for crying out loud. He was such a hypocrite.He was just lucky he didn’t really panic and call him something even worse, like a whore. He deserved getting called out for saying Lance’s name.

He followed Tay-Lor in silence for the next few varga’s. The only time they spoke to each other was when Tay-Lor wanted to check the map. It didn’t happen often. Keith had no idea how to make this better. He’d usually ask Shiro for advice in these matters, but he was pretty sure Shiro would rip him a new one for calling someone that he willingly had sex with gross.

He was a fucking mess. A disaster. He was worse than Shiro and he was a walking disaster when it came to relationships. Hell, when he first interaction with Adam he bumped into him in the hallway, had a gay panic moment and pretty much tol Adam to watch where he was going. He then ended up laying face down on the sofa all night and let Keith order a whole pizza for himself. And that was after he’d eaten dinner in the Garrison mess hall. 

Suddenly Tay-Lor jumped back, pushing Keith out of the way. Seconds later one of those juvenile wirrilum crashed down right in front of them. It hissed and coiled wildly around the trees. It hissed and growled, and looked pissed off.

Tay-Lor glared at it and took a flying leap at it. “I’M NOT IN THE FUCKING MOOD!”

Keith didn’t have to do anything as Tay-Lor landed on top of the wirrilum’s head and started shooting point blank into its skull. Even when it fell to the ground and Tay-Lor continued to shoot it until he had to stop and reload his rifle. Tay-Lor was really pissed off at him. 

When Tay-Lor had to reload, he jumped over the animal's body and kept walking. “You coming or what?” He snapped at Keith.

“Y-yeah…” Keith quickly followed him, hoping that Tay-Lor got most of his aggression out on that snake thing.

***

Pidge and Hunk ended up helping Ray some more in his clinic while everyone was working on the midnight glow festival. Ray didn’t seem like he cared too much for the holiday and took it as the perfect time to go through his stuff and clean everything out.

He was going through scrap stuff and said that Pidge and Hunk could have whatever they wanted from his junk boxes. Most of it was cool stuff that he salvaged from different wreckages. If he could use it to make prosthetics he would.

Hunk found a Galra guard’s hand. “... Spare hand for Shiro?”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Spare hand for Shiro.”

Ray looked up from his desk and removed his goggles. “Wait… Shiro has a prosthetic arm?”

Hunk gave him a confused look. “Yeah? Did you think humans naturally had silver arms?”

“I thought it was an age thing.” Ray put on a serious expression. “I must investigate this more… Do you think he will let me take it off to study it?”

“Probably not…” Said Hunk.

Ray pouted. “Damn.” He went back to work.

Pidge rolled her eyes and opened another box. The first things she saw made her blood run cold. With trembling hands she slowly took out the broken and cracked pieces of their paladin backplate. It still had the blue jetpack attached to it, even if it was horribly broken.

They took it out and held it up to Hunk. “Hunk… Don’t this look like Lance’s armor?”

He looked over at the armor and his expression looked just as shocked as hers did. “... It does… Hey Ray? Where did you find this?”

Ray looked over at what they were holding up. “Oh, just some junk Tay-Lor was wearing when he went splat into the planet two deca-phoebe's ago. A right broken mess it was. Could never figure out how to get it working again, so I scrapped it along with everything else. I asked Tay-Lor if he wanted to keep it as a memento, but he didn’t want it. Some crap about not wanting to remember his past and moving on with who he is now. I didn’t care.”

He went back to working while Hunk and Pidge quickly packed anything that looked like it was paladin armor or part of their bodysuit. It was clear that they had come to the same conclusion and they had to tell Shiro and Allura. They had found him. They had finally found Lance.


	15. Fish food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows that Tay-Lor is Lance except Tay-Lor and Keith. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D
> 
> Almost forgot! But lizardlullabye did a lovely fan art of Zell and Tay-Lor and I thought it was really sweet of them to do so <3  
> https://www.deviantart.com/lizardlullabye/art/Tay-Lor-and-Zell-834510926

Pidge slammed the box of Lance’s armor down in front of Allura and Shiro. They both jumped in shock and were about to say something when Pidge quickly cut in. “Tay-Lor is Lance.” A heavy silence hung in the air before Allura let out a nervous laugh.

“Pidge, Lance has been dead for-”

“Nope.” She poured out the Paladin armor. “Ray said Tay-Lor was wearing this when he hit the planet. You can’t look at this and say it isn’t Altean technology. Look at it. It’s Lance’s armor. You can’t say that this doesn’t belong to Lance.”

Allura looked completely shocked. Shiro was stunned and looked over at Hunk as if to confirm what Pidge was saying was true. Hunk nodded a little. “Yeah. It all kind of lines up too you know? Like, nuleum has wormhole capabilities when it explodes and it can warp things back to Dotra… Lance vanished two years ago and Tay-Lor appeared here two years ago.”

“... But wouldn’t he recognise us?” Asked Allura. “Even a little?”

“He had a metal shard in his head!” Snapped Pidge. “A metal. Fucking. Shard. In his frontal lobe too!”

Hunk nodded and shrugged a little. “We haven’t even been able to properly map out the human brain. After getting stabbed in the head it isn’t a surprise that Lance didn’t remember anything… He might not remember anything ever again…”

“So Lance had been here the whole time?” Asked Shiro. “... You guys are absolutely sure that Tay-Lor is Lance?”

“As sure as I knew that my dad and Matt were still alive.” Said Pidge. “We have scans! Show them Hunk!”

Hunk handed over scans and photos Ray had taken of Lance when he first came in for medical treatment. The photos were gory and the scans were only just a little bit better. Allura and Shiro looked horrified when they looked it over.

“Where did you get these?” Asked Allura.

“Ray gave them to us.” Said Hunk. “After we explained who Tay-Lor was he just handed it over and told us to tell him what the fall out is.”

“We need to get Lance back here ASAP!” Snapped Pidge.

Allura frowned a little. “... I’m going to talk to the Empress and try to get her to understand what has happened. If this is really Lance I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

“Allura, it’s Lance!” Cried Pidge. “What part of it’s Lance do you not understand? Lance is here! We need to help him! We can help him get his memories back! What if that’s what Coran was trying to tell us in that last transmission? What if he scanned the DNA I took of Tay-Lor and it came up positive for Lance? What if he sent down a bunch of Lance’s stuff?”

“... I’m going to talk to the Empress.” Allura quickly left the room.

“... What the heck is up with her?” Asked Pidge. “We found Lance! Oh my god… Lance almost fucking died in that death match…”

“Calm down Pidge.” Said Hunk. “We might have found Lance but we haven’t found Lance.”

“... What are you talking about?”

“Hunk’s right.” Said Shiro. “Lance didn’t recognise us when we first met. He was going to execute us all and almost killed Allura. He really doesn’t remember who we are at all… He might not even want to remember us.”

“Well he might want to remember us.” Said Hunk. “Lance is our friend and he cares about us… Deep down inside… We might be able to spark some memories if we talk to him? We haven’t really talked to him about anything and no one here would have known anything about Lance or where he came from, so they probably weren’t able to trigger his memories… Oh god Keith is with him…”

Shiro looked worried. “Oh boy… I really hope Keith doesn’t trigger any of Lance’s memories until he gets back… This won’t end well for anyone…”

***

Tay-Lor and Keith had been quiet for the better part of the day and it didn’t seem like Tay-Lor was going to start talking to him anytime soon. If Shiro was here, Keith was sure that he would say that he needed to be the bigger man and needed to apologise. Too bad Keith never knew how to do that without sounding like an asshole.

They came to a river. It was flowing a lot faster than the body of water they were at earlier that morning. Tay-Lor stopped at the water’s edge as he contemplated what to do. “Huh… Think you can jump this?”

Keith looked at the water and frowned. He took a small running start and jumped over the water. He used his jet pack to boost himself over to the other side. He landed on slightly soft ground but he stuck the landing and looked over at the alien. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

The alien just sighed, crouched down and jumped. In a split second a large fish jumped out of the water and grabbed hold of him, quickly pulling him underwater.

“TAY-LOR!” Without thinking Keith dived into the water. Keith’s helmet quickly adjusted to the change in environment so he could breathe and he quickly swam after the fish. 

He could see the fish just ahead of him with Tay-Lor in its mouth. The alien was punching the hell out of the fish’s face, but he didn’t seem to be bleeding or anything like that. So he was relatively okay, for now. Keith swam as fast as he could over to the fish and stabbed it in the tail fin, ripping it pretty well.

The fish thrashed wildly, opening its mouth wide enough for Tay-Lor to free himself. He dug his fingers into its eye and ripped it out for good measure. The fish thrashed and hit Keith hard, knocking him into a rock. It was oddly shaped and Keith somehow managed to hit his stomach hard and hit his wrist at an odd angle, instantly spraining it.

He groaned in pain as Tay-Lor grabbed him and they both swam out of the river and safely onto the bank. They both laid there panting heavily. Keith was sure he'd bruised his stomach. He tried to move his hand but hissed in pain. 

Tay-Lor looked over at him and lightly touched his arm. “You okay?”

“My stomach hurts and I sprained my wrist… You?”

“Bruises and I think it just nicked some of my armor…” Muttered Tay-Lor. “Also, all my pistons are full of water.” He lifted up one leg and water started to gush out of them. “So these are fucked for a few ticks while they drain…”

“Okay.”

The two of them laid still as they breathed heavily and tried to figure out what they were going to do next. “... You jumped in to save me.” Said Tay-Lor. “Why?”

“You got grabbed by a giant fish. What else was I supposed to do?” Asked Keith.

Tay-Lor said nothing for a few more ticks. He seemed to be trying to figure out what he was going to say. “It’s usually sink or swim here… If you can’t get out then that’s your problem. If I was with anyone else they would have waited a few minutes to see if I made it, if not they would have moved on.”

“Humans aren’t like that.” Said Keith. “We tend to have a thing called empathy.” He slowly got to his feet, cringing a little.”

Tay-Lor also got up, grunting a little in pain. It took a little bit of walking before Tay-Lor found a suitable spot to rest and tend to their wounds. It was another large tree branch a fair few feet off the ground. Keith managed to jet pack up while Tay-Lor had to wait a few more ticks for his exoskeleton legs to drain out a little more water.

Once they were settled in, Tay-Lor took off his exoskeleton and opened the pistons to drain the water from them. He also removed his breastplate and heavy leather stomach armor. He had dozens of small pin pricks all over his body in a bite pattern.

Keith watched him take a yellow gel out of one of his pouches and smeared a thin amount over the marks. It seemed to dry pretty quickly and he hummed happily. 

“Can you do my back?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure.” Keith took the ointment from Tay-Lor and lightly smeared it across his back. “There.”

“Thanks… No you should take your stuff off too. We need to see how badly you’re injured.”

Keith was a little reluctant, but eventually peeled off his armor and let Tay-Lor look him over. Dark bruises were already blooming on Keith’s stomach. He flinched a little when Tay-Lor lightly touched it.

“Lie down.” Said Tay-Lor. “I have a balm that can help with this.”

Once again Keith did as he was told and lied back on the branch. The balm Tay-Lor was using went on cold but quickly warmed up to an almost soothing degree. When the bruise was taken care of, Tay-Lor went about making a split of Keith’s wrist out of some sticks and a bandage.

“... I’m sorry.” Said Keith quietly.

“Hmm?”

“I shouldn’t have said what I said before… When I panic I say really stupid and hurtful things.” Said Keith quietly. “I don’t think you’re gross for sleeping around. I don’t know your life. I don’t care what you do. You’re a nice person… When you’re not trying to murder us. I’m sorry I was an asshole.”

Tay-Lor stared at him for a moment. Whenever he did this, Keith wondered if he was trying to get a read on him. The alien sighed a little and shrugged. “It’s fine. I have a bit of a short fuse… I guess it just hurt a lot more since we have similar bodies but you just called me gross?”

“I’m sorry… I haven’t been with a lot of people… But that doesn’t mean I was like a virgin before I met you.”

Tay-Lor tilted his head slightly in a small gesture of confusion. “... What’s a virgin?”

“... Someone that’s never had sex?”

“Is virgin another earth word for a child?”

“What? No it just means no sex.” Said Keith.

Tay-Lor continued to tilt his head. “But children don’t have sex and a virgin is someone who doesn’t have sex?”

“It’s assumed all children are virgins. A virgin is more like like an adult that hasn’t had sex.”

Tay-Lor made a small noise of recognition and nodded. “Right… And humans care about such a weird concept because?”

Keith shrugged. “Some people are weird like that. It’s dumb. I know. But humans are kind of dumb.”

“So… you had some weird virgin panic and called me gross because you were freaking out about seeing me naked outside of a sexual situation?”

“... Maybe?”

“... Humans are weird.” Said Tay-Lor. “Being naked doesn’t automatically mean sexual situations.”

“I know…”

“Your species is pretty sex crazed huh? Worrying about who has had sex and who hasn’t. So dumb.”

“I know… Don’t even get me started on slut shaming.”

“What?”

“Someone who has sex.”

Tay-Lor threw his hands up in the air and made a frustrated sound. “So it’s a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation? Your species is fucked.”

“Agreed… But I honestly don’t think you’re gross.”

“Okay. I forgive you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Tay-Lor sat back and looked up at some of the insects just floating by them. They kind of looked like butterflies and left a small trail of light behind them, like a mist. It was pretty. 

Keith sat up, and cringing a little. His stomach hurt a lot. Now seemed like the time to try and contact Shiro or Allura to try and tell them about their situation. They weren’t able to get even a bar. It was annoying.

“Any reason why I can’t get a signal?” Asked Keith.

Tay-Lor shrugged. “No towers out here. Every time we put some up some animal will decide they don’t like it and destroy it.”

“So we are on our own?”

“Pretty much. Does that worry you?”

“Not really.”

Tay-Lor hummed a little and leaned back a little. “It’s a thrill.”

“Huh?”

Tay-Lor looked over at him. “It’s a thrill. During sex I just forget that I’m an alien and that all whole life is fucked up… It’s kind of nice and I don’t feel so lonely during. I know everyone I’ve fucked is just doing it to say they did it with an alien, but I don’t mind. I do it because I feel less lonely…”

“... Did I make it worse when I called out for Lance?”

Tay-Lor shrugged and started to go through his rations. “It really doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. I told you that I’ll be whoever you want me to be.” He handed Keith some rations to eat. Keith took it and quietly ate. “I… I don’t think anyone really liked me before I lost my memory anyway. So it’s no big deal.”

“Hmm?” Keith wasn’t really sure what he meant. “Can you clarify?”

“Oh, I remember a few things here about my past but I…” Tay-Lor sighed and nervously started picking at their nails. “I don’t think people liked me that much. At least that’s what I got from my memories…” He laughed a little. “I don’t think the people on my planet liked me very much… They probably had a good reason. I might have been a shitty person.”

“Even if that’s true it’s not who you are now, right?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I guess… Still hurts to think that when you try to remember your past you just remember people calling you a dumb ass and pathetic…”

Keith could kind of sympathise with him. Not completely, but he could try. Shiro would be proud of the effort he was making today. “Growing up… When I got put into the system I met my fair share of people that would say those kinds of things about me, especially when I was younger… I was pretty much told I was never going to amount to anything.”

“And now you’re saving the universe?”

“Yep. Sure showed them huh?”

That earned a laugh from Tay-Lor. “I’d say so… Maybe if someone from my past saw me now they would believe that I became a better person?”

“Maybe?”

“Yeah… They could think I’m worse though… I have military training. What if I took some oath not to kill and they find out I murder people? They would probably think I’m a monster…”

Keith frowned. “It’s not like you could say no to doing it, right? This is just the culture you were reintroduced to. You couldn’t control it no more than I can control being half Galra.”

“... Is being half galra considered bad?”

“They are the race that’s taking over the galaxy.” Said Keith in a deadpan tone.

“Fair enough.”

“Yeah, anyway, I didn’t know I was half Galra until I interacted with a group of Galra rebels called the Blade of Marmora.” Said Keith. “Allura was pissed off and hated my guts for a long time after that because the Galra destroyed her home planet and practically wiped out her entire race…”

Tay-Lor nodded slowly. “So since she couldn’t get her hands on some of the Galra that caused her pain in the first place she decided to pour all her pain and grief onto you?”

“Yeah… I really doubted myself and my place on the team for a long time. It sucked… But things eventually improved… I guess what I’m saying is, is that things are going to get better?”

Tay-Lor looked him over again before nodding slowly. “You’re just full of wisdom, aren’t you?”

“... I honestly have no idea what I am doing.”

The alien snorted back a laugh. It made Keith smile a little. Tay-Lor had a pleasant laugh. “Do any of us know what we’re doing?”

“I guess not… Are we going to stay here for the night?” 

“Yeah, seems like a good spot. I don’t feel like walking after a giant fucking fish tries to eat me.”

Keith nodded a little and pulled his armor back on as best he could with a bruised stomach and his wrist in a splint. Hopefully things wouldn’t get much worse. They hoped that there wouldn’t be too much more drama before they got the package.


	16. Glow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whole chapter dedicated to our favourite idiots bonding... With a little cliffhanger at the end that I may or may not skip over depending on how I feel (You'll understand when you get to it). Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The two of them managed to get to the valley where the package was supposedly meant to be according to the beacon. Tay-Lor seemed pretty happy to be there and kind of excited to see what Coran wanted to give to the Paladins.

“Think it’s food?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Human food? I’d love to try human food! Maybe Altean food? I’ll try that too! Myaba gift for the Empress? Medicine? I think any of that stuff will be cool.”

Keith was happy that Tay-Lor was back in an excited mood. It was nice and felt kind of familiar to him. Hunk was generally a happy person, but he just didn’t have the same energy as Tay-Lor. The alien was practically hopping from one foot to another.

“I don’t know, but when we get it we probably shouldn’t open it until we get back to the palace.”

“Aw… Not even a little look?”

“Nope.” Keith brought up the map again and had another look. The beacon was moving. “Um… Okay?”

“What?”

“Either it fell down something or something’s carrying it away…”

“... Well shit.” Tay-Lor cocked his rifle and started to head towards where the beacon was moving. 

The two quickly found the source of the moving beacon. Kind of. Around a particularly sharp turn was a large lumbering beast. It was about the size of the black lion and kind of looked like an armadillo with the face of a naked mole rat. Its body was covered in strange and bizarre growths that looked like a skin disease.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a krilla. A big one too. Must be a mama krilla.” Said Tay-Lor. He quickly raised his gun and took aim. “Shame I’m gonna have to pop it.”

Keith quickly pushed the barrel of the gun down. “Hey! You can’t just shoot it!”

“Why not?”

“We don’t even know if it ate the beacon!”

“We won’t know until we kill it and scan it.”

“We don’t have to kill it to scan it.”

Tay-Lor huffed and put his fun away. “You are no fun.”

“And you’re kind of blood thirsty… How close can we get to it before it decides to try and kill us?” 

“Pretty close, but yeah… Do you really want to get close to it? I can shoot it. No problem.”

“No.”

“... Fine. Mr Bossy.” Grumbled Tay-Lor. The two of them slowly walked over to the krilla and Keith started to scan it. As far as he could tell the beacon was inside the krilla. The damn thing ate it. He could almost see the blue light of it flashing just under the translucent skin of the creature. “So… I shoot it now?”

“No!” Snapped Keith. “That seems way too close to the surface…”

“Well when krilla eat things they can’t digest like rocks and metal it gets pushed to the surface for its own armor.” Said Tay-Lor. “So we can either wait for it to get pushed through the skin or I can shoot it and then we grab the package when it calls out and run?”

“... Can we just think about this?” Asked Keith. He didn’t want to kill something if he could help it. This krilla thing might have been dangerous but he didn’t want to murder it. Kind of like how he wouldn’t go out and just start murdering snakes or coyotes back when he lived in his shack.

Tay-Lor didn’t seem very pleased but he seemed like he was trying to think up a strategy to get it out of the krilla without hurting it. “... We could wait for it to fall out of it?”

“How long will that take?”

“You got enough rations to last the next deca-phoebe?”

Keith sighed heavily. “Okay… Is there any way we can get it out without really hurting it?”

“... A quick incision with my gun? It’ll be quick and won’t bug them very much.” 

Keith glared at Tay-Lor. “You really want to shoot something, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What is with you today?”

“I have an itchy trigger finger and krilla’s are assholes.”

Keith sighed. “Okay, fine. If you really need to do it, then do it.” He muttered. 

“Thanks.” Tay-Lor happily took aim at the small glowing light under its skin. “... You’re fast right? I’m gonna shoot it, it will fall out, and then it’s gonna be pissed off at he and you know, try to murder us.”

“... So your plan is to shoot it and for me to run in and grab it before I get crushed?”

“Yes.”

Keith sighed, but decided to just go with it. “Alright. Let’s just do this…”

“Cool, stay away from its mouth.” Tay-Lor happily took aim and gestured for Keith to start moving towards it. “Stay in its blind spot.”

“Yeah, yeah. Not the first time I’ve been around some weird giant alien before..” 

Keith took a deep breath and used his jet pack to quickly move towards the krilla. There were a few seconds of relative silence, bar the krilla just lumbering away from them at a slow pace. Suddenly Tay-Lor let off his shot and hit the scrature’s side. The creature let out an annoyed grunt when it got hit and seemed to pause to try and see what hit them.

As they did that, a relatively large rectangular silver and blue package fell out. Keith grabbed it and quickly moved off as fast as he could. He didn’t want to get stepped on by this thing or attacked in general. He heard a few more shots fired off. 

He looked over at Tay-Lor who was shooting the side of the mountain near the Krilla. It got its attention and the creature quickly turned their head around to look at the exploding ground above them.

Keith quickly moved and landed behind a rock. He sighed and looked down at the package. It was definitely Altean design. Coran definitely sent this. With a thump, Tay-Lor landed next to him. He seemed content with himself. 

“Can I see the package? I wanna see what’s in it.”

Keith shook his head. “We’ll open it when we get back to the palace.”

“Aw, why?”

“It could be fragile or something. Don’t want to break it.”

Tay-Lor huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine…”

***

It took awhile but they made it back to the Laluna monastery. Keith was actually surprised by how easy it was. Then again Tay-Lor seemed to be pretty interested in what was in the box. If Keith took his eyes off it for a few seconds the alien would be reaching for it. He pretty much had to hold it the whole time.

The people at the monastery were moving around as fast as they could as they moved things around. Tay-Lor happily grinned as he bounced around from foot to foot. “We made it back in time for the festival. Last year I was in Kar’s village when this all went down. It was really beautiful.”

“I see… Is there anything we should be doing?”

“Staying out of their way mostly.” Said Tay-Lor. “Come on. Let’s go inside and find the Sage.”

The neulite was easy to find and he seemed happy that they were there. “Ah, good to see you two made it back safely. Finished your mission I take it? We have a small room set up for you two to use for tonight. If you wish.” They were taken to a small room with two mats laid out for them. It reminded Keith a little of a futon. Heck, it probably was some kind of alien futon. The Sage happily nodded and smiled at them. “I’ll have someone bring you food around dinner time. But please, try to stay out of our way. We only have a few vargas left to prepare for tonight.”

“Can we use the baths?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“You two can use the floating baths.” Said the Sage. “But only tonight. It’s just to keep you two out of the way while we get ready for this. This is a very important ceremony.”

“No problem.” Said Tay-Lor. “Keith and I will be out of the way for the whole night. You do what you need to do.”

“Thank you.” The Sage gave a small bow to them and Keith copied Tay-Lor when he did the same action.

When they were alone Tay-Lor flopped onto the alien futon and sighed contently. “This is so nice! We’re also getting to use the floating baths? Bonus!”

“I guess?” Keith walked over to the window, placing the package next to him so Tay-Lor wouldn’t grab it. The view was pretty. He could see a small settlement from the window, Then again it didn’t really look too much like a village. Maybe it was a mine? He didn’t know.

He heard the familiar clicking of Tay-Lor removing his exoskeleton before he walked over to him. “Are you looking at the graveyard?”

“That’s a graveyard?”

“Yep. Bodies come to monasteries like this to be prepared to get taken to the graveyard to get turned into nuleum.”

Keith was taken aback. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Nulites become nuleum when they die.” Said Tay-Lor, like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. “It’s just part of their lifecycle. Should look very pretty tonight.” 

“... I guess?” Keith wasn’t too sure what Tay-Lor was talking about.

Tay-Lor hummed happily and jumped up onto the edge of the window. There was a decent drop down to the ground, but he seemed to think it was a good idea to take off his heavy armor. Keith watched him take off one of his gauntlets and sniff it before he made a disgusted noise.

“Need to wash it?” Asked Keith.

“Yep. It’s all stinky… Smell it.” He shoved his gauntlet right in Keith’s face.

Keith cringed and quickly loved back. “No.”

“Smell my armor.” Said Tay-Lor, as he again moved the gauntlet towards him. “Do it. Do it now.”

Keith took it off him and tapped Tay-Lor in the mask with it. “You are very childish for an asshole that goes about murdering and shooting stuff.”

“I’ll have you know I have many interests!” Whined Tay-Lor. “For example when I have a few movements of leave built up I like to draw and paint.”

“... Really? What do you paint?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Symbols and colours. Abstract art mostly. Ray said it could just be my brain trying to interpret my memories at a subconscious level… Might show it to you sometime. Feel like coming back to my place?”

The way he asked that question made Keith’s face heat up. It sounded like it might be some invitation to something more. He didn’t know if Tay-Lor was being serious or if he was just a naturally flirty guy when he was comfortable around someone. He didn’t want to piss him off again and make him hate him again.

“I um…”

Tay-Lor just laughed and messed up Keith’s hair. “I’m just messing with you.”

***

If Tay-Lor was being honest with himself he knew he wasn’t messing with Keith. He kind of liked the weird alien. He was reserved but passionate. He snapped, but he wasn’t the kind of asshole that wouldn’t apologise when he was in the wrong. Tay-Lor quickly found himself infatuated with Keith and really wouldn’t have minded if Keith wanted to have sex again. 

The only really bad things about Keith that Tay-Lor could see at the moment was the fact he was still hung up about a love that never happened with that Lance guy, and the fact he was going to leave in a few quintants. If it wasn’t for those reasons, Tay-Lor might feel like trying to court him.

The two of them ended up sitting in the room and talking for most of the day and a bit into the evening. Keith talked about his adventures as a Paladin of Voltron, noting it was all after Lance, and Tay-Lor would tell him some stories about his life on Dotra. It was mostly stories about Zell or Flos doing something.

A knock at the door caught their attention and one of the neulite’s came in with a tray of food for them. Tay-Lor happily thanked them and looked to see what food they had when they celebrated these kinds of events. By the look of it there were a lot of vegetables; deep fried boiled and stewed. Some fish; fried and grilled. Some poultry; grilled. There was also some grilled fruit and a away in its own golden pot was airmana. Soft like cotton but cold like ice. His mouth was watering just looking at it.

Poor Keith on the other hand looked very confused at what was in front of them. So Tay-Lor went about helping him figure out what was put in front of him so he wouldn’t choke himself or eat something really weird.

“You just gotta crunch it. Like um… Some kind of crispy earth food?”

“... Like a carrot?”

“Sure. Crunch that jajaburra root like a carrot.”

It was kind of cute watching Keith figure out what he liked or didn’t like. Apparently deep fried jajaburra root tasted like a human food called a chilly pepper. It was interesting. Tay-Lor liked watching his facial expression quickly go from unsure to pleasantly surprised or disgusted. It made him snort in laughter which just made Keith glare at him.

Eventually they had finished eating and were down to the airmana. Tay-Lor quickly moved to Keith’s side, grabbed a spoon, and held some up to Keith’s face. “Try this. You have to try it. If you don’t like it I’m gonna cry.”

Keith rolled his eyes and ate it. His eyes lit up in surprise. “Oh… It tastes like strawberries…”

“Is that good?”

Keith nodded and quickly grabbed his own spoon, taking some more. “Yeah. It’s one of my favourite foods. But this actually tastes like strawberries from earth.”

Hearing that made Tay-Lor grin. He was happy that he made Keith happy. “Cool. I’ve always liked it. It’s always made me feel good when I eat it.” He quickly ate some himself, before Keith ate it all. When Tay-Lor was done he got up and headed towards the door. “Come on. The festival’s probably gonna start soon and I want to be in the floating baths when this happens. Trust me, it will be amazing.”

Keith seemed a little hesitant, but he reluctantly followed him. Tay-Lor was giddy with excitement. He had always heard about them, but he had never seen one let alone swim in one. He’d walked past the door a few times when he was in the monastery before, but he was apparently not worthy enough for whatever reason. Only the Sage and those really high up could bathe in there.

He practically threw open the doors and had to hold back his excitement when he saw how large it was. It had to be the size of a small courtyard and had a fountain in the middle. The water ran off the edge and fell several feet to a garden below near the base of the hill. 

Tay-Lor quickly got undressed and slipped in. The water was warm and soothed his aching muscles. Much to his surprise he heard Keith getting into the water too, even if it was further away from him. He was averting his eyes and not looking at him. Apparently humans did know what communal bathing was. He was glad he didn’t have to explain that to him.

“Feels good right?” He asked Keith.

The man just nodded a little and moved a little closer to the edge to look at the view or something. “Yeah… It’s nice. We have a pool on the castle ship, but it’s not heated. We pretty much only have showers to clean ourselves… The jungle is very glowy…”

“Yeah. It is.” Tay-Lor moved to the edge and leaned against one of the stone walls just hidden by the water. “It’s going to glow more soon.”

“Huh? What are you-?” A low humming sound started to bubble up through the building getting louder and louder. It was soon joined by a deep, guttural tone groaning. “-What the fuck is that?”

Tay-Lor grinned and pointed out to the graveyard he had shown Keith before from their room. “Look there. The glow festival is starting.”

The humming and groaning quickly fell into sync with each other, creating an otherworldly and melodic tune. Once it fell into perfect harmony all the nuleum in the mines started glowing. It was like a stadium on a grand final night.

He heard Keith gasp and looked over to see the human staring out in shock. He quickly became even more surprised when the smallest cracks and fissures in the building they were staying in started glowing too. It reminded him of the first time he’d seen a midnight glow festival. He was so surprised by the magic of it all.

Tay-Lor laughed a little as he watched smaller pockets of glowing light in the jungle around the mines starting to go off. “Nuleum reacts to sound waves. Nulites naturally hum at a frequency as easy as you breathe. In fact I think they hum when they breathe out? Anyway, nuleum dust is also a thing. Possibly the most stable form. There are also small particles of bioluminescent bacteria that just makes things glow.”

“It’s beautiful…” Said Keith quietly.

Tay-Lor looked at Keith and grinned. “Yeah it… is…” 

Keith’s eyes were fixed on the glowing jungle. The purplish grey of his irises looked like space. The few times at night when there had been a break in the storm around the planet Tay-Lor had seen the stars and he wanted it. He wanted it so badly. He wanted to reach out and obtain the things he couldn’t have. Keith was like the embodiment of all the things he couldn’t have and all the things he had lost.

He frowned a little and reached out to Keith, lightly touching his hair, making the other boy flinch a little and move away. “Can I ask you a question Keith?”

“... Sure?”

“On your planet would I be considered good looking?”

His question seemed to confuse Keith a lot if his facial expression and uncomfortable pause meant anything. “I guess? I mean you have a nice body and it um… It’s not like you’re small… But I can’t tell for sure. I haven’t seen your face.”

“That’s fair I guess… Would you be considered handsome?”

Keith practically sputtered at that question. “W-what? I mean, I guess? I wouldn’t say I’m ugly or anything… But I guess I would be considered pretty average? I never really thought about my looks…” He was very cute when he acted like this.

Tay-Lor slowly approached him and smiled. He even removed the lower jaw of his mask to let him see that he was smiling at him. It kind of seemed to calm him down a little. “I think my species would consider you handsome.”

“W-why?”

“Because I think you’re handsome.”

The colour in Keith’s face changed and he seemed to be extremely embarrassed. “Oh? You do now? I um… Okay? Well I guess that’s fair? Thanks I think?”

“... Do humans not like being told they are attractive?”

“W-well most of them don’t get told they are attractive when they are naked in a pool outside of stuff like porn.”

“Oh… I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable… I just…” Tay-Lor sighed and looked back out over the jungle. It was beautiful. Most would consider it a romantic setting. It confused him as to why though. Keith was just a hookup. “I don’t know… I haven’t met anyone like you before in my life. You’re… You’re… We look similar and for a few ticks I thought that maybe we were the same species and I got my hopes up a little, but then you said your species hasn’t even left your solar system and I… I guess I just still feel a small connection even though we aren’t even the same species, and I… I guess it’s just my own selfish desire to remember my past even though I already claimed I’d stop looking for things that I can’t have… Is it so bad that I want to feel normal in my own skin?”

He didn’t expect an answer from Keith, so he was very surprised when he felt him put his hand on his shoulder. “It isn’t bad that you want to feel normal… Trust me when you’re constantly going from planet to planet it’s hard to feel normal.”

“... Thanks.” Tay-Lor put his hand on Keith’s shoulder and smiled at him, though his smile did waver a little when he saw those beautiful galaxy eyes again. “... Your eyes look like outer space.”

“Thanks? Your mask eye holes are dark.”

Tay-Lor chuckled a little and leaned a little closer to him, but not too close. “Yeah, they are meant to be dark…”

“Yeah, I wish I could actually see your eyes… Your jawline and mouth seems nice to me.”

Was Keith flirting? Was this Keith’s attempt at flirting? Because Tay-Lor was down for that. “Hmm? Oh really now?”

“Well that’s the only part of your face I can see.”

“If you treat me right I might let you see a little more.” He winked at Keith, even though he knew that he couldn’t see it. He reached out and gently touched Keith’s face. “You know… Hooking up doesn’t have to be a one time thing… If you’re up to it, when we get back to our room, we can do it again?”

Keith furrowed his brow a little as he seemed to be weighing up the pros and cons of this action. He really hoped that Keith would say yes, or at least turn him down gently. Then again after what happened last time and how he acted things were probably going to end poorly for him. But he’d already accepted that. What he wanted never really seemed to matter. Even if he wanted to hookup with Keith he probably wouldn’t. Too caught up with the ghosts of his past to-

“Okay.” Said Keith. “Let’s go back now. The view here is nice, but it will probably look better from our room.”


	17. The Box

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just decided to say; "fuck it, don't feel like writing smut this chapter"? Me! So enjoy the ending of their boinking session and more fun stuff like; emotional trauma, angst, questioning if you've committed a crime. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

The two of them moaned loudly as they came. Tay-Lor was panting heavily with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He looked like a right mess and Keith thought he looked beautiful. He didn’t completely take off his mask, but the lower jaw was completely removed so he could see Tay-Lor’s mouth. A little more intimate.

He pulled out of Tay-Lor and lied down next to him. He was still panting heavily. Being with Tay-Lor was good. He liked it, but more importantly he liked Tay-Lor. “... Come with me.”

“Hmm?” 

“When we leave the planet come with me.” Said Keith.

Tay-Lor stared at him for a moment in surprise before he chuckled. “Is my ass that good you can’t leave without it?”

Keith felt his face heating up. “I’m serious… You don’t seem very happy here and I want you to be happy. The castle ship has a huge database. We can find your home planet and take you there, if you want. You don’t have to find out who you were, but you can find who your people were.”

“And while you’re figuring out where I came from I’ll be spending my free time in your room on my back with my legs spread?” Asked Tay-Lor in an amused tone.

Keith quickly shook his head. “No. No way. You can do whatever you like while on the castle ship. You don’t have to have sex with me if you don’t want to. You just don’t have to be so defensive all the time. You can be you…”

“... That’s a sweet thought, but I don’t know.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “I have some kind of life here… I don’t know if I could just leave it. What if my planet is like Zell’s? Like, it’s a wasteland or gone? What then?”

“Then we can help you figure out what you want to do with your life.” Said Keith. “While yeah, there are racists all around the universe we could find you a place you could really fit in. Matt, Pidge’s brother, works with a rebel group. Your skills could really be useful to them and you’ll be valued a lot more than you are here.”

“... You think so?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

Tay-Lor hummed a little in thought. “We’ll see. Ask me again before you guys leave. I’ll need to think about it… I mean, I took an oath to the Empress and the planet. I’d need her permission to leave without it being considered treason.”

“Think it’ll be hard to get permission?”

Tay-Lor laughed. “Seriously? The Empress wants me gone, and that’s just because of how crazy Flos is about me… She wants what’s best for her. She’s going to become the new Empress in the future and she needs to have a strong partner, or at least a harem of strong partners, like she has.”

“So the current Empress has a harem?”

“Yep.” Tay-Lor yawned and pulled the covers over himself. “Flos, Spinam, and Pullulant all have different fathers. It just worked better for them that way… I think if Princess Flos actually went through with her plan and married me her mother would pressure her into having a harem, and a child from one of them. Kind of important for them to have a nulite heir, you know? Then again, just to spite her, Flos would probably get Zell in on this.”

Keith smiled a little and gently pulled Tay-Lor close, spooning him. “Sounds like something she would do… Do you not like her?”

“Not in a romantic way. She’d just too much.” Said Tay-Lor. “If I choose to get married someday I want it to be to someone I want. I don’t want someone to dictate my life to me…” He yawned. “It’s one thing to be told what to do while working, but I… What I do in my spare time is my own business.”

“That’s fair.”

“Yeah…” Tay-Lor yawned and drifted off to sleep. It didn’t take long for Keith to fall asleep too. For the first time in a long time, Keith had a relatively peaceful sleep.

***

The trip back to the palace went very well too. The mudlets weren’t nearly as temperamental as they were on the trip there, Tay-Lor dropped his weapons off at Kar’s house, and then they were back at the palace. Tay-Lor handed the mudlets off to a stable hand. He yawned a little and stretched.

“Alright, well I’m gonna get home.” Said Tay-Lor. “Gotta get some food. I’m woefully out of goreberries.”

“Oh, well you wanted to see what was in the box right?” Keith held up the package. “Don’t you want to have a look?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I’ve hyped it up in my head a lot. I’ll be by later to do some training in the training hall. Come by and find me.”

“Okay. See you later Tay-Lor.” Said Keith. “Thanks for helping.”

“No problem.” The alien happily waved at him before head headed off and Keith walked back inside.

Almost immediately he ran into Hunk and Pidge. They looked kind of freaked out. “Whoa, what happened while I was gone?” He asked. “Did something happen to Shiro or Allura?”

“What? No. Where’s Tay-Lor?” Asked Hunk. “We got word you guys were here and we came down as fast as we could.”

“You just missed him.” Said Keith. “He’s gone to get groceries or something. Why?”

Pidge made an annoyed noise and grabbed the package from Keith and started to march off. “We’ll fill you in when we get to the throne room.”

Keith was confused by all of this but followed them. Hunk did try to ask Keith how the trip was and if anything happened while they were gone. Keith did answer him, but it was clear that Hunk wasn’t really listening. He was nervous. He would have asked Pidge what was going on but she just looked pissed off.

When they got to the throne room a table had been set up with Shiro and Allura talking to the Empress and Princess Flos. Ray was there too, but he was eating something crunchy from a large bowl and looked very amused by the whole situation unfolding in front of him.

Allura looked over at Keith. “Keith, you’re back. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… The glow festival was interesting.”

“Oh, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Said the Empress. “Where were you and Tay-Lor when it was going on?”

“The Laluna monastery.”

“Oh it is quite lovely there. Anyway, back to the matter at hand?”

Allura nodded in agreement. “Right. Pidge open the package.”

While she was doing this Keith walked over to Shiro. “What’s going on? Hunk and Pidge have been acting weird.”

“Well…” Shiro pulled out a chair and gestured for Keith to sit down, which he did. “A few days ago we kind of figured out who Tay-Lor is…”

“Oh? Who is he?” Asked Keith. Maybe they really were someone Shiro remembered from his times in the galra gladiatorial arenas? Or maybe they had met his species before.

Shiro sighed a little. “Okay, there is no easy way to say this, but Tay-Lor is L-”

 _“Is this things working?”_ Rang out Coran’s voice, causing both of them to quickly whip their heads around in shock to see Pidge holding a small holodisc. A miniature, blue, see through version of Coran was being projected out of the disc. _“... Ah, the light is blinking. Okay. It’s working.”_ He cleared his throat and quickly straightened his back. _“Hello Allura, and Paladins. I hope you’re doing well. Anyway, with all the things that’s happening with the storm around the planet and what not I thought it would be best to send you this package an a message.”_

Keith thought that was practical. Coran was the kind of guy that would do that.

_“Okay, so one of the samples Pidge sent up for analysis was a little weird. So I ran it a few times a few different ways and well… I am 99% sure that you ended up getting a DNA sample from Lance. A fresh sample too. There was no breakdown in the DNA sequence which you would expect after a sample has been exposed to the elements for years… So in the case that you have found Lance and not some kind of fleshy blob that might have absorbed his body somehow, Lance is alive.”_

Keith was shocked. Lance was alive? But this didn’t make any sense to him. He couldn’t be alive. He blew up. They only recovered some of his fingers and pieces of his armor. He just didn’t understand it. He felt his stomach get tied up in knots.

_“I ended up packing some of Lance’s things. Like his jacket, some photos and some other personal things. I really hoped that you found him… If I’m mistaken I’m really sorry for opening old wounds… Hopefully I’ll see you all soon. Now… How do I turn this thing off again? Do I hit th-?”_

The hologram finished and Keith felt like his mind was blown. They had found Lance. They really had. But the only one that could even be considered Lance was Tay-Lor. Keith felt the colour drain from his face at that revolation.

People were talking around him but Keith wasn’t listening to him because he was rightfully having a bit of a crisis. He saw Pidge lay out old photos that Lance had taken with them while Hunk laid out photos of Lance, but much more gravely injured than any time Keith had seen him. These were probably taken when he vanished and landed here.

Keith felt sick. He wanted to vomit. He was genuinely attracted to “Tay-Lor” and kind of liked him a little. It was confusing. He wasn’t sure of his own feelings and now Tay-Lor was Lance. So that meant that he and Lance had sex… His body started to move on autopilot as he stood up, took two steps towards the door and fainted.

***

As Tay-Lor went about grocery shopping he thought some more about what Keith had said about leaving the planet. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted to go, but he’d be lying if he said that the thought wasn’t appealing at all. If he was surrounded by a bunch of aliens then maybe he wouldn’t feel so isolated from everyone. Also, Princess Flos would stop trying to pursue him so that was a huge bonus.

He smiled slightly at the thought of being able to leave this place. He bet space was just as beautiful as Keith’s eyes… He was really starting to like Keith. He was pretty and strong, and he didn’t make Tay-Lor feel like he was a complete freak for not looking like the majority of the population. Also, Keith was really good in bed.

But when he thought of Keith he couldn’t help but feel sad. Keith still liked Lance, and when he thought of Lance, Tay-Lor felt jealous. He was annoyed that Lance didn’t work up the courage to tell Keith how he felt. Keith was a catch. If he had a chance with Keith he’d tell him straight away, but Keith wasn’t in the right frame of mind to accept someone else. 

The sex was good and Keith didn’t call out Lance’s name the second time, it wasn’t like he called out his name either. He wanted a warm body under him, and it wasn’t like Tay-:or could blame him for it. He was the one that initiated it all in the first place.

Someone bumped into his shoulder, making Tay-Lor lose his balance slightly. He probably shouldn’t have been drifting off while standing in the middle of the aisles. He quickly grabbed some meat from the fridge and went to check out.

He got back to his place just fine and started to put his things away. Tay-Lor still wondered what life would be like out in space. It would be an interesting adventure. Maybe he could be respected by more than just a small handful of people? Hell, maybe people would like him and not judge him just because he doesn’t look like everyone else?

He sat down on his couch and bit into a goreberry. Tay-Lor slowly chewed it as he thought about what could possibly be out there. He smiled a little and closed his eyes. Behind his eyelids he could see the stars. They were beautiful. It might not be so bad to just leave. It wasn’t like his life got completely turned upside down before.

The communication device in his gauntlet suddenly buzzed and he looked to see what he was being sent to him. It was a message from Zell asking if he was back yet and wanted to train with him. Tay-Lor grinned and finished eating his food before quickly letting him know he’d be over in a few ticks.

***

When Keith came to he was laying on some couch with Princess Flos waving a fan in his face. “Oh good, you’re awake. Are you feeling sick? You hit your head pretty hard.”

“I’m okay…” Muttered Keith as he slowly sat up. “What the heck just happened?”

“We told you that Tay-Lor was Lance and then you fainted.” Said Pidge.

“... Right. Still processing that…” Muttered Keith as he rubbed his hands over his face. “Okay… How the fuck did he get here?”

“Nuleum is weird.” Said Hunk. “When it explodes it makes weird wormholes for a few seconds and kind of sucks random stuff back to the planet. The prince knows more about that stuff… But it looks like Lance got caught in the blast and sucked through, and got hit in the head with some metal. Which is why he didn’t recognise us when he first saw us.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Also explains why he decided to name himself Tay-Lor. It’s just a slightly different spelling and annunciation of that stupid nickname he tried to give himself back at the Garrison.”

“Right… But he only lost three fingers. Only three.” Said Keith.

Ray held up a document. “He got some of them bitten off. But he was missing three when he first came here.”

“Okay…” Muttered Keith. “Okay… So, what now?”

Allura sighed. “We’re going to tell Lance who he-”

“Tay-Lor.” Corrected Flos. “You might think he is this Lance person, but he doesn’t remember being Lance. As far as Tay-Lor is concerned, Tay-Lor is Tay-Lor.”

“But he isn’t Tay-Lor.” Said Pidge. “He’s Lance.”

“No, he is Tay-Lor.”

“Lance!”

“Tay-Lor!”

“Lance!”

“Tay-Lor!”

“Lance!”

The two continued to yell at each other while Keith just hung his head. He still felt shocked. He didn’t know if he really believed that Tay-Lor was really Lance. It felt too surreal. It made him feel sick. Shiro sat beside him on the couch and gently put his hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay?” He asked.

Keith shook his head. “Shiro… I think I fucked up…”

“How?”

“... I’ve had sex with Ta-Lor... Lance… Whoever the fuck they are.” He practically whispered.

“Oh.”

“Twice.”

“... Twice?” Asked Shiro in a hushed tone while Keith just nodded. He felt extremely ashamed and confused. “Was this all when you two were out getting the beacon?”

“Once before we left and once on the way back.” Whimpered Keith. “Oh fuck, I had sex with Lance… I didn’t even… That has to be a crime somewhere. This doesn’t feel right… I feel like I’ve done something very, very wrong...”

Shiro gently patted Keith’s back. Admittedly, he didn’t seem to know what to do in this situation either. “It’s okay Keith. We will all work through this.”

An attendant entered the room and quietly whispered something to the Empress. She nodded and quickly said something to them before sending them away. “I have been informed that Tay-Lor has entered the grounds. He will be here in a moment.”

Ray grinned and quickly started munching more on the food he had. “Oh boy. This is gonna be good.”

Keith was instantly nervous. He didn’t want him to be Lance. He wanted Tay-Lor to be someone completely different. If it was Lance then everything that they had was sick and wrong. At least in his mind. One night stand, hookup, whatever it was called, he didn’t like it. It made him feel dirty.

Soon Tay-Lor was in the room and he seemed slightly confused. “My Empress? You called for me?”

“Indeed.” She said. “While you were gone some… revelations have come up. As a result I feel as though I have no choice but to demand that you remove your mask.”

Tay-Lor tensed ins shock. “R-remove my mask? In front of everyone? Right here? Right now?”

The Empress nodded. “Yes. As your Empress I am ordering you to remove it. If in fact these revelations are false than you may put it back on and we will speak no more of this event. Now please, I, Empress Amyg-Dala, am commanding you to remove your mask right now.”

“... Yes… My Empress…” Tay-Lor seemed reluctant to do so, but he slowly started to remove his mask. 

Keith was practically holding his breath as Tay-Lor’s fingers ran over the small ridges and lines hearing each lock click and pop open. Finally it was loose enough for him to pull it loose. Tay-Lor’s hair reached down to his shoulders and curled slightly at the ends. His jawline and cheekbones were sharp. He had a prominent scar jutting out of his hairline. His eyes glowed a bright blue under the filter of Dotra’s sky. 

He looked a little different, but this was undoubtedly, unmistakably Lance McClain. The Blue Paladin. The lost member of Voltron. The rest of the Paladin’s let out a small gasp of shock. It was almost like none of them were really sure that this really would be Lance until they actually saw him.

Tay-Lor looked around at the group with a confused expression on his face. “What?”


	18. I am... I am... I...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this emotional train wreck! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Before anyone could say anything, Pidge embraced Tay-Lor in a tight hug. She was quickly followed by Hunk. He looked completely stunned and confused. He didn’t know what was going on as he quickly looked around the room. “Um? What? What’s happening?”

“I can’t believe we found you, you asshole.” Mumbled Pidge into his chest. “Don’t you ever pull that shit again or I swear I will kick your ass!”

“We missed you buddy.” Said Hunk.

Tay-Lor looked around for help. Ray laughed from his seat as he shoveled more food into his mouth. “Okay, so it looks like you were the blue Paladin of Voltron. Some guy called Lance, but like some aliens got a hold of some nuleum, fucking smugglers, it exploded, you got caught in a nuleum blast, landed here and lost your memories, and your team mates thought you were dead for the past two deca-phoebs.”

The Empress nodded a little in agreement. “Sounds about right.”

“We missed you so much Lance.” Said Pidge. “Here, we have some of your stuff.” They grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him towards the package he and Keith had gotten. 

She held up a jacket and started showing him photos of... himself. A younger version of himself, but it was still himself. He was smiling and was with Pidge and Hunk. There were a few photos with him and Allura. There were some group photos too where everyone was there. He was always smiling in all of them and looked happy.

Everyone was talking around him but all Tay-Lor could hear was white noise in his ears. Everyone seemed excited for him. They all wanted him to come back with them and they were happy to finally have Lance back. Lance this. Lance that. All Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance, Lance...

Tay-Lor put the jacket and photos down. No one really seemed to notice he had done it until he picked up his mask again and cleared his throat. “My Empress… Do I have permission to put my mask back on?”

Everyone went quiet and stared at him. “Well, I guess so?” Said the Empress. She seemed very confused. “But you found out who you are. You’re the lost Paladin of Voltron.”

Tay-Lor shook his head as he turned his mask in his hands. “I’m sorry, but I’m not Lance… I don’t remember a single thing about him. I might have his face and body, but I am Tay-Lor.” He put his mask back on and bowed politely to Keith. “About that offer you made me the other night, I’m sorry but I’ll have to decline. If I go with you, I’ll just end up disappointing you all and giving you false hope. Goodbye.”

He quickly left the stunned group before any of them could say anything and headed down to the training room where Zell was. The older alien asked how his trip with Keith went, but Tay-Lor ignored him. He just went straight to a training dummy and started kicking it.

Zell let him go for a few ticks before he stopped him by poking him with a training sword. “Okay, what’s your deal? Did something happen?”

Tay-Lor sighed. “Yes, and no…”

“Yes and no?”

“Yeah…”

“... Do I have to throw you across the room to get you to talk?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Apparently I’m Lance. The guy that apparently died, the blue Paladin, the guy that Keith has been in love with for a while now, and they all think that now they know who I am I’m going to just be Lance again…” He laughed bitterly. “How the fuck am I meant to be someone I don’t even remember?”

“Oh…” Zell seemed to be taken aback a little. “Want to attack the dummy some more while we talk?”

“... Yes please.” Tay-Lor kicked the dummy while Zell held it firmly. It was a confusing time for him. 

After about half a varga Zell finally found his voice. “So what are you going to do? Stay or go?”

“There’s no reason for me to go.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “If I go with them they will want Lance. It’ll be all Lance this and Lance that… But I’m not Lance… I’m Tay-Lor… I don’t think they understand that.”

“Can you really blame them?” Asked Zell. “They clearly cared for Lance and Lance vanished from their eyes in a very traumatic way.”

“... I guess?” He sighed and kicked the bag a few times. “I just… I feel really bad for them… Especially Keith. We had sex, and he’s not over Lance, but I kind of like him and I thought he kind of liked me for me but now… Now he knows I’m Lance, he’s just going to love me for being essentially a dead person.”

“I’m sorry…”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “It is what it is… Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m… I’m not going to go with them. If I go with them it will just hurt them more. I’ll just be a reminder of something horrible… The Paladin’s are nice enough people and I really like Keith… They need to forget about Lance and move on.”

“... You really want to go with them don’t you?”

“Yes.” Tay-Lor sighed and sat on the floor. He felt broken, again. He hadn’t felt like this since he first tried to remember who he was. He wasn’t Lance. He was Tay-Lor. Tay-Lor. Not Lance. He couldn’t be Lance if he never remembered being Lance, right? It didn’t make any sense. “But I want to go with them because they want Tay-Lor to go with them… Not Lance… Maybe I should just go home for a while…”

Zell sighed a little and picked Tay-Lor up. “Alright. I’ll take you home. I don’t trust you not to so something stupid on the way back.”

“Okay.” Tay-Lor was fine with this. It gave him some more time to think.

***

Everyone was at a loss. They were unsure of what to do or where to go from there. Tay-Lor rejected the idea of being Lance. He just walked away from it all. Even the Empress seemed at a loss of what to do now.

“So what now?” Asked Ray. “You gonna take him back with you?”

“We can’t force him.” Said Allura sadly. “Lance… Tay-Lor… If he wants to stay here we can’t make him leave…”

“But what about his family?” Asked Pidge. “They don’t even know he’s here? What are we going to say to his parents when we get back to Earth? Sorry Mr and Mrs McClain. We couldn’t bring your son back home from space because he lost his memories and decided to stay on an alien planet for the rest of his life. Sorry Lance’s brother’s and sisters. Lance doesn’t know who any of you are. Sorry Lance’s fucking huge extended family, Lance doesn’t remember a single one of you. How are they going to feel?”

“He has a large family?” Asked the Empress.

“A huge family.” Said Hunk. “He was really invested in this war with the Galra so he could keep his family safe. He wanted to get home to see them again...”

Princess Flos frowned a little and crossed her arms. She seemed to be thinking everything over. “... Tay-Lor loved his family, right? And they loved him?”

“Family was super important to Lance.” Said Hunk.

The Princess nodded and sighed. “Alright… Ray?”

“Hmmmmmmmmmm?” He quickly glanced down at his bowl of food and held it out to her. “Want some?”

“What? No. Do we have scans and mapping of Tay-Lor’s brain activity?” 

“Yeah?”

She nodded and looked over at Allura. “And I am assuming Altean technology is on par or slightly more advanced than ours?”

“It depends on the situation. But we have medicine that can heal most injuries.” Said Allura.

“And I assume since your Paladin’s are human you have a better understanding of the human body than we would?”

“Possibly.”

Flos nodded and sighed. “Okay… Ray, we need to gather and hand over any and all medical records we have on Tay-Lor and hand them over to Allura immediately. Since we have been unsuccessful helping him then maybe they will have better luck.”

“Wait.” Said Shiro. “We’d still have to convince him to come with us to the castle ship if we can offer him any treatment. If he doesn’t want to go then there is nothing we can do to convince him to.”

“Why do you even want to help him remember anyway?” Asked Keith. “Wouldn’t you want him to not get his memory back and stay here so you two can eventually get married?”

The Empress shot Keith a dirty look, while the Princess just shrugged. “Of course I want him to stay here with me, but I am the future Empress of Dotra.” She said calmly. “As the Empress I have to put my people’s wellbeing before my own. As a nurse that idea is reinforced tenfold. We will give you everything we can to help Tay-Lor but you will need to convince him to go with you.”

Keith didn’t know how they were going to do this.

***

Zell dropped Tay-Lor off at his apartment and bid him good night. The moment Tay-Lor was alone he went and made himself a strong drink, grabbed his space weed, and decided to get drunk and high in the middle of his living room. He wasn’t Lance. He wasn’t. He was Tay-Lor.

He was Tay-Lor, wasn’t he?

He frowned and slowly started to take off his mask. Once it was off he ran his fingers over his face. He wasn’t Lance. He was Tay-Lor. Just Tay-Lor. Lance couldn’t do the things he did. He was better than Lance. Hell, he had sex with Keith, twice. Something that Lance was never able to do. Lance wasn’t anything special...

Tay-Lor took a long, slow drag and just watched the swirl of orange smoke around his head. He didn’t really know how long he sat there, but it was long enough for someone to knock on his door.

“It’s open!” He called.

Moments later Keith was in his apartment. He looked kind of surprised. “You’re not wearing your mask…”

“Not much of a point now since you know what my face looks like. What do you want?”

“Everyone’s looking for you…”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “So? You guys are just going to try and convince me that I’m Lance when I’m not. I don’t remember shit about him. About being him. I’m not Lance. I’m Tay-Lor.”

Keith was quiet. He sat by him on the couch and stayed silent, but he did look over at Tay-Lor every few ticks. It was a little annoying. Tay-Lor hated this silence and the conflicted look on Keith’s face.

“What the fuck do you want from me?” Snarled Tay-Lor. “Want to fuck me again and see my face while you do it? Want to moan out Lance’s name repeatedly and fuck the guy you’re been dreaming of for the last two years?”

Keith seemed to be taken aback by his outburst. “What? I-”

Tay-Lor quickly grabbed Keith by the wrist and pulled him towards the bedroom. “Come on. Might as well get it over with. You can call me Lance and tell me how much you’ve wanted me and how much you’ve missed me and-”

He was cut off when Keith shoved him against a wall and glared at him. “Listen to me for one second!” He snapped. “I… Okay, it’s hard for us because we all loved Lance in one way or another. He was our teammate and friend. He was important to us… And yeah, I am in love with Lance. I love him a lot… But you really aren’t Lance at all, are you? You’re just a guy that just so happens to have his face… You are Tay-Lor. You’re not Lance...”

Tay-Lor was kind of shocked to hear Keith say that. He glared at him and studied his face to try and see if Keith was lying to him, but he seemed pretty sincere. Tay-Lor wasn’t sure what to think. “... What do you want from me Keith?”

The man sighed. “Look, Ray gave us your medical records. Allura thinks we can get some of your memories back if we get you back to the castle ship for treatment.”

“And you want me to go so I remember how much I’m in love with you?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“No I… Allura said because of your brain injury it seemed like most of your recent memories that have to do with Voltron might be gone, but we might be able to get some of the memories about your family back.” Said Keith. “L-Lance was always going on about how much he missed his family and wanted to see them again… I at least want you to remember your family because when we get back to earth… I don’t want them to think that Lance is completely gone…”

Tay-Lor thought about this for a moment. While Keith’s motives seemed to be innocent, he couldn’t help but feel like that wasn’t fully the case. “And If I can’t remember? Then what? And your other friends, Hunk and Pidge, they want Lance back. You saw how they acted when they saw my face. They want Lance. Not Tay-Lor.”

“... Hunk and Lance were best friends well before Voltron.” Said Keith. “Pidge was his friend too. Pidge and Lance kind of acted like siblings at the best of times. He helped her a lot when she needed support to find her brother… They feel responsible for Lance getting caught in that explosion. They were with him… Shiro and I were running a distraction.”

“I see…” He smiled sadly. “So they will never really accept me as Tay-Lor will they? I’m just going to be Lance but with head trauma. I’m not my own person.”

“No you’re still you. They just need time. We want to help you. Please le-”

“And what about you?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Are you really comfortable with me going with you? I’m not the same person your heart is yearning for.”

“I know you’re not the same.” Said Keith. “... Okay, I might have had a bit of an existential crisis about all of this… But I’ve calmed down a lot. We want to help you but this is your choice. We have so many things to help you remember but yeah…” Keith looked away with a dejected look on his face. “Sorry… I um… I know I can’t convince you to come with us if you don’t want to but… The offer still stands. We’d all accept you…” He walked towards the door but paused for a moment with his hand on the door handle. “We’re going to be leaving soon so… Once we’re gone we’re gone… Bye Tay-Lor…”

He left and Tay-Lor sunk back down to the ground. He didn’t know what to think. But one thing really stood out in his mind. Keith, the man that was in love with Lance, didn’t call him Lance once the whole time he was addressing him.


	19. Castle ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha... God damn it all I just couldn't stop myself... Well, not much you can do when you're self isolating! Enjoy the fruits of my isolated insanity! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

No one had seen Tay-Lor since Keith talked to him. Keith had considered going to his apartment again, but that didn’t seem like a good idea. Everyone just had to accept that some form of Lance was still alive out there in the universe, but didn’t want to go with them. Hunk and Pidge took it pretty hard. It was like they were losing him all over again.

They were back at the clearing Yellow and Red were. Keith was happy to see Red again and he felt a light purr pulling at the back of his mind. Red was happy to see him again. He smiled sadly up at her.

“Hey Red.” He said quietly. “Good to see you again.” 

Keith looked over at Hunk. He was directing some of the nulites to put some supplies into Yellow. The talks with the Empress were successful. The Empress had sworn loyalty to the coalition and would help when they could. They were also going to double down their efforts to make sure no more nuleum left their planet.

Allura was talking to Zell. She had been talking to him for a few days. It seemed like she was trying to get him to leave the planet too. Though his home planet was destroyed, he was still a formidable fighter and would be a huge asset to the resistance. It seemed like she might have convinced him to come along. The alien seemed rather impressed with Red and Yellow lion.

He felt Shiro’s hand on his shoulder. “We did all we could… If Tay-Lor wanted to come then he would be here.”

“I know… Still hurts though.” Muttered Keith. “Like, what if one day he does remember and he wants to come back? He won’t be able to… He’ll be here…”

“... This is what he’s decided.” Said Shiro calmly. “Come on. Get in the cockpit and make sure Red’s all ready to go.”

Keith nodded and got into the cockpit. The controls lit up and the familiar rumble of Red greeting him again played in the back of his mind. He smiled a little at the familiarity of it all. He smiled and rubbed his hand over the armrest.

“Well, back to the castle ship we go I guess…”

After a few minutes Shiro joined him in the cockpit along with Zell. The large alien huffed a little as he tried to make himself smaller. Keith raised an eyebrow and looked up at Shiro for an answer.

The older man shrugged. “Yellow is pretty full and Allura said there would be the same amount of room for him here as in there.”

“Fair enough.” Keith looked over at Zell. “So, you really want to come with us?”

“Yeah. I’m ready to kick some Galra ass.” Said Zell in a gruff voice.

 _“Alright, Yellow’s ready to go.”_ Said Hunk over the intercom. _“You all good there Keith?”_

“Yeah, we’re good here.” Said Keith. “All systems are ready to go”

 _“Alright. Let’s get going.”_ From the cockpit they could see Yellow taking off.

Keith took a deep breath and gently pressed forward on the controls. Red hovered for a moment, but refused to go any higher. Keith frowned and quickly checked the controls. Red should be fine. There was nothing wrong with her. She should have been fine. He jerked the controls a few times.

“Seriously Red?” He groaned. “What are you doing?”

“What’s wrong?” Asked Shiro.

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know.” He quickly got onto the intercoms with the Yellow Lion. “Hey guys? Something weird is going on with Red. She’s not getting any higher.”

 _“Does she need recalibrating?”_ Asked Pidge. _“We can land and I can run it?”_

“I don’t think it’s a calibration issue.” Said Kieth. “Red just doesn’t want to go…”

 _“What do you mean Red doesn’t want to go?”_ Asked Allura. _“Are you sure you followed proper take off procedure?”_

“... Is this because I’m here?” Asked Zell.

“You’re fine.” Reassured Shiro. He leaned over to Keith and whispered quietly. “Do you really not know what’s wrong? Maybe she’s mad you left her outside for so long?”

Keith rolled his eyes and patted the arm of the chair a few times. “Sorry I left you outside for so long Red. I’ll buffer your paws when we get back to the castle ship. Okay? Please don’t be mad at me.”

That seemed to please Red. She slowly started to gain altitude. Keith let out a sigh of relief. He was a little upset that Red was being so temperamental with him. He’d had a really amazing and shitty few days. 

_“Everything alright now buddy?”_ Asked Hunk.

“Yeah. We’re good now.” Said Keith. “Okay, so where’s the next break in the st-” Red suddenly jerked forward with her mouth open towards the jungle. Everyone yelped out in surprise, especially the three occupants in the Red Lion. Keith yanked back on the controls to stop her from crashing. Red suddenly jerked back and flew up to Hunk’s level. “... Does your offer to recalibrate Red still stand, Pidge?”

_“Of course.”_

“Thanks.”

It was relatively smooth sailing through the storm, at least as smooth sailing as flying through a giant electromagnetic storm could be. It was nice to be out in space again. 

Zell let out a small gasp. “Wow… It’s been so long since I’ve seen the stars. It’s beautiful.”

Shiro smiled a little and patted his back. “Well, you’re out now.”

“Yeah.”

“Whoa, that’s what stars look like…” Muttered Tay-Lor.

Keith nodded. “Yep… Wait… TAY-LOR?!”

Everyone quickly turned to see him looking around the doorway into the cockpit, Zell’s body took up most of said doorway. Tay-Lor just waved nervously, his mask still firmly on his face. “Um… Hi guys…”

 _“What? Tay-Lor is with you?”_ Asked Allura. 

There was a small cheer from Pidge and Hunk. _“Great to have you join us buddy.”_ Said Hunk. _“We didn’t think you were going to come along.”_

“What changed your mind?” Asked Shiro.

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I did a lot of soul searching and I just… Well I realized that if I left then Princess Flos would stop trying to marry me. That’s more than enough reason to get my ass off the planet.”

 _“Hee, sounds like something you would do.”_ Said Pidge.

Allura chuckled. _“Alright, settle down everyone. I’m going to call Coran and let him know we have a few guests and inform him of the… amnesia situation.”_

***

When they docked in the castle ship, Coran was more than happy to greet Zell and Tay-Lor. He happily shook Zell’s hand and grinned. “Ah, are you a higgarope? From the planet Flardners?”

Zell chuckled and nodded. “Why yes I am. Glad to know I’m still recognizable even with this mask on my face.”

“Well your species pincers are very distinct.” Said Coran. His attention then went to Tay-Lor. He was still wearing his mask but he didn’t seem very happy about meeting a new person. Coran just smiled warmly at him and offered his hand. “And you would be Tay-Lor, correct? It’s nice to meet you. Allura said you were a very brave soldier on Dotra.”

“...” Tay-Lor nervously took the Altean’s hand. “You know I am meant to be Lance, right?”

Coran shrugged. “Well technically yes, but considering the near immortal Eelliish of vertari seven go into a hundred deca-phoebes hibernation and when they wake up they have completely different names and personalities. So while you might have the same face as Lance did it’s not that difficult to put a new name to it.”

“... Thank you. It’s nice to meet you Coran.” Said Tay-Lor quietly.

Coran then went to talk to Allura while everyone else started moving supplies out of the Yellow Lion and Red Lion. While they were doing this, Zell and Tay-Lor stood back and watched them. It was interesting. Tay-Lor looked at the other coloured lions in the hanger. He wondered which one was supposed to be Voltron.

Zell lightly nudged Tay-Lor’s arm. “You going to tell me the real reason you decided to come here?”

“What are you talking about?” Asked Tay-Lor. “I told you, I realized that Flos would no longer be able to-”

“The Empress would never let her do it.” Said Zell calmly. “So why are you here?”

Tay-Lor sighed and leaned against the wall. He didn’t really know what to say. Well he did, but it was complicated. “Look, I wasn’t lying when I said Flos is the reason I’m here… She came and talked to me. Basically called me an idiot for letting this opportunity pass me by. She said some other stuff and well… She kind of tossed me into the Red Lion’s mouth. So now I’m here.”

“Am I going to get the full story?”

“Nope.”

After a while Pidge walked up to them. “So… Hi Tay-Lor...”

“Hi.”

“... So um, I kind of wanted to apologize.” They said. “I was just so excited that Lance was back but… I’m sorry. I know that’s not how amnesia works. There’s just so many things I regret. Things I didn’t say, things I didn’t do… Stuff I just said I was going to make up for later but never could… I’m sorry. You’re Tay-Lor. Not Lance… Sorry…”

Tay-Lor shrugged and ruffled her hair. “It’s fine. I get it. You miss him… He must have been someone really special to you all.”

“Yeah. He was.” She smiled sadly. “But I’m glad you still decided to come. We’re probably just going to eat and go to bed. Coran said he’ll get some rooms ready for you guys. We’ll probably talk about what you guys want to do tomorrow.”

“Seems like a good plan.” Said Zell. “Hope you guys have a lot of food. I am starving.”

“Don’t worry. Hunk always makes a lot.” Pidge and Zell talked a little about food and some of the differences between Dotra and human food. Hunk got drawn into the conversation and Tay-Lor slipped away quietly.

He was glad things were going well for them. He went and started looking at the other lions in the hanger. Green was small like Red but looked like they had a backplate that might have been a shield? She looked cool. Black looked like they had red wings. They had this majestic and kind of powerful look about them. They had to be the leader. Maybe this was Voltron? He wasn’t sure.

Then there was Blue. Blue was… different. Blue was just there. Sure it was some kind of ship or whatever, but it looked alive. Like it was silently judging him and picking him apart piece by piece. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he just did. Blue was staring right into him and Tay-Lor was staring right back. Right in the back of his mind he felt a little nudge. Like someone was cautiously pushing on a door to check it it was unlocked.

“Tay-Lor!” Called Zell. “Come on. We’re having dinner.”

“Right. Coming.” Tay-Lor quickly ran after him. Zell seemed to be happy enough to talk to Coran about this and that. As they walked he noticed Keith was walking kind of close to him. He smiled a little at him. “Yeah? Got something to say?”

“You’re still wearing those exoskeleton legs.” Said Keith.

Tay-Lor looked down at his legs and shrugged. “Well they are mine. Besides, what’ Ray gonna do? Launch himself to find me and take them back? … Actually he probably would do that… Shit...”

Keith chuckled a little. “Yeah, the guy did seem pretty odd.”

“He is odd… So, you okay with me here?”

“Yeah I… I actually didn’t think you would come with us.” Admitted Keith. “Are you going to try and get your memories back? Not like Voltron memories or anything but like, your family and some stuff about Earth.”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I’ll probably try a few treatments, but I’m not promising anything.”

“That’s fine. You just do what you need to do.”

“Thanks.” Tay-Lor was glad that Keith was still treating him like he was his own person. Everyone else seemed to be treating him like Tay-Lor again. At least for the most part. At least that’s what he felt. It was nice.

***

The evening went pretty well in Keith’s opinion. Zell and Tay-Lor ate dinner with them, got into a very heated and animated talk with Coran, and then the Altean man led them to their room. They stayed in their own rooms for the rest of the night as far as Keith knew. Maybe they went and talked to each other since their rooms were next to each other? He wasn’t sure.

Keith also went to bed, but he couldn’t really sleep. Tay-Lor came with them. He was there. On the ship. Maybe they could actually get him to remember something. He didn’t care if it was just him recognizing the faces of his parents and siblings. Getting any part of Lance back was good.

Then again, if he started to remember the past, how far would he remember? Lance and Hunk had been friends before the Garrison. Maybe he would remember a bit about Hunk? Apparently he’d also liked Shiro and idolized him before the Garrison too. Pidge he might remember but him… Sure they were apparently rivals at the Garrison, but they didn’t really start talking before Voltron.

If Tay-Lor remembered them but didn’t remember him… Keith felt his heart clenching in his chest. He felt like a fool. He and Lance didn’t have anything before he vanished. He didn’t even realise his feelings until Lance was gone.

He sighed sadly and ran his fingers through his hair. Keith was stupid. He had always been stupid. Sure he was good with some practical things but his emotions and feelings he was completely stunted. 

With an annoyed huff, Keith walked through the halls to the observation deck. He might as well look at the stars for a while. He’d spent a lot of his time there when he couldn’t really sleep but didn’t want to beat up anything.

They entered the observation deck and was surprised to see Tay-Lor was there. He was sitting on the couch and watching the stars. The most surprising thing to Keith was that Tay-Lor wasn’t wearing his mask anymore. The lights on the castle ship didn’t have an black light filter so now Keith could clearly see Tay-Lor’s bronze skin. If the planet didn’t have that filter he probably would have realised something was up with him sooner.

“Can’t sleep?” Asked Keith as he walked over to him.

Lance glanced over at him and shrugged. “Not really.”

“... You aren’t wearing your mask?”

He shrugged. “Zell and I talked about it. Neither of us are on Dotra anymore.We don’t have to follow their cultural norms and expectations anymore… It seems a little weird wearing our masks all the time if we aren’t fulfilling the role of the faceless, stone cold, unyielding justice of the planet. Protectors of the Empress and her people… So we decided to take them off. I left mine in my room.”

Keith nodded and sat next to him. “Fair enough… Are you in your room or did Coran put you back in Lance’s room?”

“My own room.” Said Tay-Lor. “Coran said that we aren’t the same people so he wasn’t going to push it onto me… Told me I could see it if I wanted to. I’m not ready.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to go back in there ever if you don’t want to.” Said Keith. “So… If you can’t get your memories back what are you going to do?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Probably join a resistance group. The group Pidge was saying her brother was a part of could benefit from my help. I mean, I am probably one of the best fighters ever. Next to Zell of course.”

Keith smirked a little. “Yeah, when you’re using a gun. You still suck at hand to hand combat. I watched that mask off.”

“Psh, details.” Said Tay-Lor as he gazed out the window. He got this oddly distant look in his eyes. “Anyway… Space is really something huh? So big and just never ending...”

“Yeah. Seems that way.”

“Which one is ours?”

“Huh?”

“Which dot.” Said Tay-Lor. “Which dot is Earth? Our home planet.”

“Oh.” Keith looked out the window and squinted. He had no clue where Earth even was in relation to the castle ship. “Um… I don’t know… It’s out there somewhere, but I don’t know where exactly.”

Tay-Lor hummed a little and pulled one of his legs up, tucking his knee under his chin. “Can you tell me about where Lance grew up? Where I grew up?”

Keith felt a sharp pain in his chest. He didn’t really know much about Lance. Only what he talked about in his vlogs or randomly mentioned. “Um, You grew up on Earth. Obviously. You were born in a country called Cuba and then your family moved to a bigger country called America. But you spent a lot of time in Cuba visiting your family.”

“Is Cuba hot or cold?”

“It’s hot.” Said Keith. “I’ve never been. I think it’s humid? But it could be more of a dry heat… I don’t really know… It’s tropical?”

“Cool”

“Yeah…” Keith nervously drummed his fingers against his knee. “You um… You loved the ocean and you’re bilingual.”

Tay-Lor gave him a confused look. “What is bilingual?”

“It means you can speak more than one language. You were fluent in both English and Spanish. We’re speaking English now.”

“Oh cool… Say something in Spanish?”

“...” There were many things Keith was good at, but he bombed his Spanish classes pretty damn hard. “Um… Si?”

“See what?”

“No si.” Said Keith quickly. “Si. S.I. It’s the Spanish word for yes.”

“Oh, okay. Anything else?” Asked Tay-Lor curiously.

Keith could feel his face starting to burn with embarrassment and shame. “... Sorry. I kind of suck at Spanish… Hunk is better at it than me. Lance and Hunk used to have whole conversations in Spanish. I um, I don’t think that you guys realised I didn’t understand you guys when you spoke it… I mean, I grew up in Texas. Hell, I lived in a border town for a few years and I just couldn’t pick it up…”

Tay-Lor nodded along, though it was clear that he didn’t really know what a border town was or what Texas was. “That’s okay… What are earth oceans like?”

“Big and blue.” Said Keith. “Some dangerous stuff lives in there, but you know, dangerous stuff everywhere. That spirit projection thing you did before of that huge fish? Kind of looked like a shark.”

“Cool.” He turned his attention to some interesting looking nebula. “... Do you think we’ll actually get to see earth again? I want to see earth and this Cuba.”

Keith smiled a little. “Yeah. Someday we’re going to get back to earth. When we do I’ll make sure you get to see Cuba.”

Tay-Lor grinned and gazed over at him. “Aw, you taking responsibility for me?”

“W-well out of every one I um… I didn’t really get along well with Lance and I… I just feel shitty about that.” Muttered Keith. He also couldn’t deny he still had very mixed feelings about Tay-Lor that he was still trying to process. He wanted Tay-Lor to like him and not think it was because he was technically Lance, but he wasn’t Lance… He still needed to figure out his own feelings. All he really knew for certain was that he wanted to get along better with Tay-Lor than he did with Lance.

Tay-Lor laughed a little and shook his head. “You and your guilt. You don’t need to worry about the past. I already like you.”

Keith went bright red and just sort of nodded. “Y-yeah… I kind of like you too.”


	20. A.I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people were wondering what would happen if Tay-Lor met the Lance AI. Well, here is your answer. Wash your hands. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

It didn’t take long for Tay-Lor and Zell long to find their new favourite room in the castle ship; the training deck. As soon as they were given free reign they practically lived there. It wasn’t unusual to hear them trying to beat the hell out of each other in hand to hand combat. Something that the paladin’s would have expected Keith to do, or maybe Shiro.

It had been a few days since they had gotten there and Coran was working in the medbay to try and come up with an effective treatment for Tay-Lor. He’d suggested just going about their lives until he had a method figured out since it wouldn’t be helpful to try and force anything.

So there the two were, Tay-Lor holding a large weight while Zell was performing bicep curls with him in the training room early in the morning. When the Paladin’s walked in they watched as Zell tossed Tay-Lor to his other hand.

“Morning.” Said Zell with a small click of his pincers. “Do you guys need to use the training room?”

“Actually,” said Shiro. “Allura and I thought it might be a good idea if we do some hand to hand combat with Tay-Lor. We thought it might jog some part of his memory to do some training with us.”

Zell nodded and looked down at Tay-Lor. “What do you think?”

“Sounds fun.” Grunted Tay-Lor as he held on tight to the weight and tried not to move much.

Zell smiled and walked to the side of the room, still doing bicep curls. “You all warm up. I’m just going to finish this set.” When he finished his set he put Tay-Lor down, and Tay-Lor put the weight on the floor. 

He stood back with Zell and watched the Paladin’s do a few easy looking drills to warm up. Naturally his eyes fell on Keith. They guy had a nice butt. If the opportunity came up again he wouldn’t mind giving it a little squeeze… maybe a light slap?

“You’re being obvious.” Said Zell. “Without your mask it’s obvious who you are staring at Keith.”

“... Right.” Tay-Lor sighed and leaned back against the wall. Training with the Paladin’s was probably going to be interesting. He wasn’t going to be using his exoskeleton legs anymore. Mainly because he didn’t have to jump anymore. It was a little odd, but he was quickly getting used to it.

After a while Shiro clapped his hands and gestured for Tay-Lor to come over. “Alright, so since I don’t really know what kind of fighting style you’re good at, you’re going to be going up against me. No weapons and you pin your opponent to win. You tap out if you feel like something is going to break or you’re going to pass out. Got it?”

“Understood.” Usually during training it would be until you pass out or you physically couldn’t. In real life no one gave a shit if you were broken or bleeding. You fought or you were dead. 

Tay-Lor took a fighting stance as he quickly looked over Shiro and made a guess at what his fighting style might be judging by his height and general physique. He had to be a close combat fighter. Mostly upper body. He doubted Shiro would try and kick him. He was going to punch him.

Shiro made the first move and swung at Tay-Lor, going for his chest and it was quickly followed by a jab. Tay-Lor just managed to dodge him. He continued to digde him until he found an opening and kicked Shiro in the ribs.It wasn’t a light hit either. In all of Tay-Lor’s training he did what he was told and attacked them like it was his last fight. No room for hesitation.

The older man stumbled slightly and Tay-Lor kicked him again. Shiro threw another punch and managed to land it. But Tay-Lor was quick. He grabbed Shiro’s arm and using all his strength, he ducked down and threw Shiro over himself and knocked him to the ground. He put Shiro in a painful arm lock and lightly pressed his foot against his neck. A few seconds later Shiro tapped the ground and Tay-Lor assumed that was the signal to let him go, so he did.

“Did I do that right?” Asked Tay-Lor.

Shiro coughed a little as he sat up and flexed his arm. “Yeah. You did that right. You’re good.”

That made him smile a little as he helped Shiro stand up. “Really?”

“Yeah, might want to ease up a little though. You don’t need to fight that hard when we’re just doing training.”

“... But why?” Asked Tay-Lor. “If you don’t attack with all you’ve got then how can you improve?”

“If we get beaten to a bloody pulp each time then how can we defend the universe?”

“Good point.” There were only five paladin’s after all. They really needed some new recruits or something. 

He did some more one on one training with Shiro until he decided everyone needed to switch partners. By either coincidence or fate, Tay-Lor ended up being partnered with Keith. He seemed a little tired from his own previous session with Allura.

Still, the man smiled slightly at him. “You did pretty good with Shiro.”

“You should be paying attention during training.” Said Tay-Lor. “Take training seriously.”

“I do.” Siad Keith. “I’m probably-”

“Go!” Called Shiro.

Without hesitating Tay-lor grabbed Keith and put him in a choke hold. Keith flailed in surprise and ended up tapping out. Tay-Lor couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah. So dedicated.” 

“You caught me off guard.” Grumbled Keith.

Tay-Lor couldn’t help but feel a little weird about that word exchange. He felt like that had happened before at some point in time. Maybe this was the thing called deja vu? He wasn’t too sure.

“... Are you okay?” Asked Keith.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You’re shaking.”

Tay-Lor looked down at his hands. Sure enough he was shaking. “... Yeah. I should probably quit for today.”

“If you want to…”

“I think I should…” Tay-Lor quickly excused himself and headed to the showers. 

He let the cold water quickly cascade down his body as he thought about his exchange with Keith. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like remembering something that he couldn’t really remember it fully. He felt his heart racing in his chest like he was having a panic attack. He didn’t understand why he was feeling his way. There was nothing that should have set him off like this, but he was. He didn’t understand why and that just made him panic more. He sank down to the bottom off the stall and quietly shook.

It felt like forever but eventually the water turned off. He felt pressure on his back and muffled talk. It slowly came more and more into focus. He looked up and almost got his eyes taken out by one of Zell’s pincers.

“Are you okay?” He asked. “Can you hear me?”

“Y-yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Hey, what are you sorry for?” Asked Zell as he wrapped a towel around him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing at all.”

“I um… H-how long was I out?”

“Long enough for me to wonder where you are. The Paladin’s are still running drills.”

“Okay…” Tay-Lor pulled his towel tighter around himself. He felt so small. He didn’t like it. “Zell?”

“Yeah?”

“I feel sick…”

“Should we go to the medbay?”

“I feel like I should probably just lie down…” Muttered Tay-Lor. “I just… I don’t feel good…”

“Alright. Get dry and dressed.” The alien patted Tay-Lor’s head a few times and helped him stand.

Tay-Lor quickly dried himself and walked down to his room. Like most rooms in the castle ship it was barren and empty. The only personal thing in this room that made it his, was his mask. Tay-Lor sat on the edge of his bed and held the mask in his hands. He was confused. He didn’t like it.

With a sigh, Tay-Lor laid back on his bed and attempted to fall asleep. Something that didn’t really work out. He felt sick and didn’t really know what to do. He kind of felt numb and a little hungry. He didn’t really eat much during the day anyway. He had gotten used to the nulite way of eating; one large meal and several small snacks throughout the day. Maybe he’d feel better if he ate something?

Tay-Lor headed to the kitchen. He didn’t know if the Paladin’s would still be training or not. He assumed if they were, Zell would have gone back to watch them. He made his way to the kitchen and Tay-Lor found a bar in a green and red wrapper. It seemed like it might be food.

He cautiously opened it and nibbled it. It was okay. Whatever it was. As he nibbled it he happened to see the space mice walking around the kitchen countertop. He broke off some of his food bar and handed it off to them to eat. They seemed very grateful for it and happily shared it among themselves.

“... So you guys are space mice huh?”

The mice looked up at Tay-Lor and continued to nibble on their food. They didn’t really offer much insight into anything. Space mice couldn’t talk. Just stare at him and look cute.

The large yellow mouse went up to Tay-Lor and nibbled on his sleeve. He looked down at the mouse and patted them a few times. “You want some more food?” They wiggled their nose a few times and lightly tugged on his sleeve again. The other mice quickly joined in. They seemed to want him to follow them? Maybe?

He followed the four mice as they quickly ran out of the kitchen and down the hall. They would stop every now and then to look up at him to make sure that he was following them. When they were satisfied they would quickly scamper off again.

Eventually they got to a door and waited for him to get there. He was a little confused, but poked his head into the room. It was surprisingly dark compared to everywhere else in the castle. Tay-Lor didn’t really like it, but he walked into the room.

The doors snapped shut and everything went pitch black for a few seconds before a glowing blue light appeared in the middle of the room. A calming voice resonated from the blue light. _“Please state location.”_

“... Location?”

_“Please state location.”_

“A room?”

_“Location accepted. Running ROOM location program.”_ There was a light shimmer as the room changed to a generic room.

Tay-Lor quickly figured that this was some kind of holodeck. Similar to the arenas back on Dotra. But for more recreational uses. “Actually, can you tell me the most popular locations?” He was interested to see what was popular among the Paladin’s.

_“Top five locations; Midnight_openfield_Earth. Flowerfield_Altea. Beach_Earth. Mountain_Altea. Nebula_Argenta-Galaxy._

“Cool… Run the first one.”

_“Location accepted. Running; Midnight_openfield_Earth.”_

The room shimmered again and the room changed to a grassy hill with a black sky full of stars. The stars were beautiful. Tay-Lor didn’t know what the constellations were, but he knew it was amazing. Was this what the stars really looked like on Earth?

_“Would you like to load the most recent program or would you like to select one?”_

“Run the last program.”

_“Request accepted. Running program; AI_Lance.”_

“... Wait, what?”

There was another shimmer and a younger version of himself was standing there. The himself of two years ago when he still called himself Lance. He looked so care free with the way he carried himself. It was very unnerving.

The AI seemed shocked to see Tay-Lor too. They initially froze as the AI seemed to try and recognise the situation it was now facing. After a few ticks passed by it just smiled at him. “Oh, I see. So the real Lance isn’t dead after all.”

“I’m not Lance. I’m Tay-Lor.” This must have been the AI Pidge had made. Keith had mentioned it to him before. “I guess I was you, but I have amnesia. I don’t remember you at all.”

“Huh… Weird. So you want me to call you Tay-Lor then?” Asked the AI. “... Your hair is horrible.”

“What?”

“And your skin sucks.”

“... I will find a way to unplug you.”

The Lance AI pouted and crossed their arms. “Rude. I can’t help it if your hair and skincare routine sucks. Anyway, all jokes aside, you have amnesia? Were you in a coma? What happened?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I got a piece of metal in the brain and landed on an alien planet. Got a job as a glorified soldier.”

“So the usual?”

“Yep.”

The AI laughed and grinned at him. “Alright, so you want to know about the good old, Lancy Lance huh?”

“... Did I really call myself that? I sounded like such a tool.” He really didn’t want to believe that this might have been who he was.

“Hey, don’t get mad about my programming.” Whined the AI. “I’m programmed to act and react to situations the same way the real Lance would have. I’m trying to cut the tension here.”

“Could have fooled me.”

The AI pouted and sat down on the grass. “So mean… Do you want to learn about Lance or not? No one better to learn from then someone who has all his memories and junk, right?”

Tay-Lor thought about this for a moment and sat down in front of the AI. “If I ask you to tell me about me, you, us… Whatever we are meant to be… You’ll tell me everything right? No lying or holding back?”

“Sure. I’m technically not programmed to lie anyway. Just to respond how the real Lance would.”

“... I want to know about Earth.” Said Tay-Lor. “Tell me everything you can about Earth and my family… I don’t care about Voltron or what the Paladin’s meant to Lance. I want to know about my planet and my people.”

The Lance AI smiled softly at him and nodded. “Okay. Sure. Pidge would have better resources about Earth, but I can tell you what I can. Okay, so Earth has two poles. North and South. Both of them are super cold and the middle of the planet is really hot. We grew us where it was really hot. You and your family love the warm weather...”

***

Keith felt like he had done something wrong. Something really wrong. He and Tay-Lor hardly did anything before Tay-Lor started freaking out and ran for the showers. He’d hoped that Tay-Lor would have come back when Zell went to see if he was still in the showers. But he didn’t come back. Then the training session kind of devolved into Zell seeing which Paladin they could bench press the most. At least Pidge, Hunk, and Allura seemed like they were having fun.

Keith just stood back and hoped that Tay-Lor had just gone to bed or something. He really didn’t understand what he did. Shiro seemed to notice something was wrong and went to talk to him.

“Are you okay?”

“Tay-Lor hasn’t come back yet. I’m worried about him.”

“I know. We’re all worried about him.” Said Shiro. “Coran said he’s a few days away from starting a treatment for him.”

“Yeah, but he might not remember anything about Voltron.” Said Keith. “I just… I’m happy he’s here and he doesn’t have to worry about getting attacked and killed by the people that are meant to be his teammates anymore…”

“But?”

“But I miss him…” Said Keith. “I miss Lance still… Like, yeah, I know it isn’t him and it isn’t going to be him. Am I being selfish hoping that one day he’ll just snap out of it and be Lance again? I’m tired of everyone just leaving me...”

“...” Shiro patted Keith’s shoulder. “You know no one wanted to leave you on purpose, right? It was all out of their control.”

“I know.” Said Keith as he put his hand on Shiro’s. “I think I’ll just go back to my room. I’m tired.”

“Okay. Come and find me if you need anything.”

Keith smiled a little and headed out of the room. He had more than enough time to accept that Tay-Lor was Tay-Lor and no one else. He shouldn’t hold out hope that something would happen and he’d be back to being the same goofy, happy guy that everyone knew. Keith was selfish. He wanted Tay-Lor to be happy but he wanted Lance.

The closest he could get to it would be letting Tay-Lor continue to be Tay-Lor while he talked to the Lance AI. That was a depressing thought. He needed to find some kind of space therapist to deal with his issues.

He got to the holodeck, but when he went to open the door he saw that it was already in use due to the coloured light near the door lock. Someone was in there. Now, he could have just unlocked it and walked in, but that would abruptly freeze the program on the holodeck and he didn’t really want to do that.

“...” Keith pressed his ear to the door and strained his ears to try and hear what was being said. It sounded like two voices. Very similar. Was Tay-Lor talking to the AI? He could kind of hear their conversation.

“-And Veronica was so mad.” Said the chipper voice of the AI. “Which is how we got our own eyeliner.”

“... That sounds so dumb.” Said Tay-Lor. “What is the purpose? Does it keep insects away from your eyes? What?”

“It makes your eyes look bigger. Prettier.”

“Oh, so it’s an attraction thing?”

“Kind of.”

Keith moved away from the door. He didn’t really know how to feel about this. It had to be a good thing to be talking to the AI, right? He wasn’t sure. There were too many uncertainties in place at the moment. He hoped that if the AI helped Tay-Lor remember anything it would be the good things and not bad things. He knew he didn’t treat Lance very well before, but he wanted things to be different… He needed to sort out his own feelings.


	21. Flan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flan is delicious and I wish I had some during the quarantine. Oh well. Anyway, I had to use google translate for the Spanish for I am a fool that only knows English, so sorry if it's bad. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D
> 
> Justo como mamá lo hizo - Just like how mama made it  
> ¿Te acuerdas? - Do you remember?  
> Hablas español - You’re speaking Spanish.  
> ¿Eh? yo soy - Huh? I am?

When Tay-Lor walked into the medbay at Coran’s request, he was sat on a chair and a strange device was placed on his head. Coran babbled on about so many weird things that were going to happen with the thing on his head. Stuff about neurons and connections and whatever. He didn’t really understand it.

“-so to sum it all up;” said Coran. “We’re going to use vibrations and quintessence to repair the deep tissue connections in your brain. Should work after a few treatments. You just need to give it time.”

“I see…” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “Are you sure this will work and not kill me?”

“Well, it shouldn’t… Oh well. No time like the present.” He flicked a switch and an odd humming filled his ears. He must have had a worried look on his face because Coran quickly reassured him. “Don’t you worry about that noise. It’s meant to do that.”

“Okay…” This didn’t feel right, but Tay-Lor was sticking this out. He wanted to know about his planet and family. Even if it was just a little bit. Though, part of him was hoping he didn’t remember his family at all. He couldn’t forget about all the horrible things he could remember and the negative feelings he felt sometimes. If they came from his family because they were abusive… It might have been better if he forgot.

After what felt like forever the machine stopped humming and Coran took it off his head. “Alright. There you go.”

“... I don’t remember anything.”

“Well of course you wouldn’t my boy.” Said Coran. “You’ll need a few more treatments and lots of rest before anything comes of it. It is meant to be repairing the connections deep within your brain. It takes time.”

“I see… So what now? Just lots of rest?”

“Yep. Lot’s of rest and before you know it you might start remembering your planet.”

“Okay. Thanks. I guess I’ll be back tomorrow?”

“Yep same time tomorrow. Off you go. Lie down and get some rest.”

Tay-Lor smiled a little and left the medbay. He got back to his room but before he opened it he realised he wasn’t in the right corridor. It was different. He didn’t really know where he was. He’d try to circle back to the medbay and figure out where he went wrong.

Before he could Hunk walked out of his room. “Oh hey there buddy. What are you doing?”

“Um… I got lost.” Said Tay-Lor.

Hunk seemed a little surprised. “Really? … Do you not know where you are?” Tay-Lor shook his head. “... These are our rooms.” Hunk started pointing to the doors. “Pidge, Shiro, Keith, Me, and Lance.” He was pointing to the door Tay-Lor was trying to get in.

“Oh… Really? So that’s Lance’s room?”

Hunk nodded. “Yep. Did you want to go in?”

“... No. I just got lost.”

Hunk seemed a little confused before he frowned and started thinking. “Do you think you’re remembering anything?”

“No.”

“I don’t mean like memory-memory, but like a muscle memory kind of thing?” Suggested Hunk. “Like maybe your memory is a little jacked but you have other senses and stuff right? My great aunt got dementia pretty badly but whenever she drank tropical fruit punch she was pulled back to her thirty fifth birthday. Like, visually nothing sparks your memory but maybe taste or like smell could help?”

That did seem like it might help, but Tay-Lor wasn’t sure where Hunk was going with this. “It might… But I don’t see how any of this will help in space.”

Hunk grinned. “Well, good thing I am the resident cook and I’ve improved my cooking over the past few years. A lot of my stuff tastes like stuff from home. Wanna give it a try? You can help.”

Tay-Lor was surprised, but couldn’t help but smile. Hunk was really, really nice. “Sure. Let’s do that.”

***

Keith sighed heavily as he took a short break from cleaning Red to just sit on her head. He needed to clean her up and buff up her metal to make her nice and shiny. It was a good distraction from the whole Tay-Lor situation. Though when he wasn’t doing anything, it was the first thing that came to his mind.

He hadn’t really talked to Tay-Lor much since they had their little heart to heart on the observation deck. What could he even talk to them about? Keith didn’t know much about Lance’s life on Earth. Hunk and Pidge could be able to help Tay-Lor with his family history while Keith… Keith was after Voltron. If Tay-Lor did remember him the best he could hope for was Tay-Lor remembering the one sided rivals thing.

He felt his whole body rumble when Red made a noise, questioning why he had stopped. He sighed and patted Red’s head. “I’m sorry Red. I’m still hung up about Tay-Lor… I really can’t help him anymore… And I was a jerk to Lance… What if that’s all Tay-Lor remembers about me if he remembers anything about me?”

Red rumbled again and very carefully moved her head down so Keith slid off and landed on the ground. Keith sighed and glared up at her. He could tell that she wanted him to talk to Tay-Lor again, but he couldn’t. Red didn’t understand.

“Are you okay there?” Asked Shiro. “Did you fall off of Red?”

Keith sighed heavily and sat up. “I’m fine… Just still thinking about Tay-Lor… How is he going?”

“He and Hunk are trying to make earth food.” Said Shiro. “Hunk thinks it might spark a memory for him if he eats chocolate or something.”

“Ah…”

“Want to see if this works? Plus you know, Hunk’s cooking.”

“Sure…” Keith reached up and Shiro pulled him to his feet. 

When they got to the kitchen Keith saw Pidge sitting on the counter top, tying back Tay-Lor’s hair. Tay-Lor himself was looking through a cookbook that Hunk had given him. Hunk himself was getting food out and talking to Tay-Lor about proper food preparation.

Pidge looked over at them and nodded. “Hey guys. You done with Red?”

“Red’s as clean as I’m gonna get her without taking her apart.” Said Keith. “So what are you doing?”

“We’re making flan.” Said Hunk. “It’s pretty easy to make and one of Lance’s comfort foods. He talked a lot about how his mama would always make it on special occasions. So I thought it might help if we made it for Tay-Lor… Sure it might be blue and green, but it’ll taste the same.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Said Shiro. “Plus your cooking is always good.”

“Aw, thanks Shiro.”

Keith stood back and just watched as the three walked around the kitchen as they caramelized, mixed, and beat all the ingredients together. It was nice to see them working together. Even if Tay-Lor was just using Pidge as a book stand while Hunk did most of the work. Shiro helped out a little when it came to doing dishes. He was a terrible cook.

Soon the blue and green flan was cooked and flipped out onto a plate. It looked good. Tay-Lor just gave it a confused look and a tentative poke. “So, this is flan? It’s so… jiggly.”

Hunk shrugged. “Well on earth it’s usually yellow and brown.” He cut a piece and handed it to Tay-Lor. “Just close your eyes, take a bite and savour the flavour.”

“... Okay.” Tay-Lor took a seat at the table and took a small bite. Everyone held their breath. A small smile tugged at his lips and he sighed quietly. “Justo como mamá lo hizo…”

Pidge squawked and grabbed Hunk’s arm. She gawked and pointed at him. Keith was shocked too, but he had no idea what he was saying. He needed someone to translate. Hunk seemed just as shocked as Pidge, but seemed to find his words.

“¿Te acuerdas?” Asked Hunk.

Tay-Lor tilted his head in confusion. “Eh?”

“Hablas español.”

“¿Eh? yo soy.”

“Yes you are!” Said Pidge. “You remember Spanish?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “... Maybe? Oh, I think I used up all my Spanish.” 

“Well it’s a start.” Said Shiro. “What did you remember?

Tay-Lor frowned a little and ate some more flan. “People… Their faces are kind of blurry but everyone is happy…”

Hunk grinned. “That’s awesome. Probably a birthday party you went to when you were younger.”

Tay-Lor smiled softly and continued to eat. “Probably… Coran said I might start getting my memories back in a few days. It’ll be interesting.”

The others happily talked and congratulated Tay-Lor for remembering something so small. Keith was happy for him. He really was. Really. Tay-Lor remembering things was good. He deserved to remember his family. He sighed a little and slipped out of the kitchen and went back to his room. He didn’t feel like he belonged there.

***

The flan was nice. It gave Tay-Lor a nice warm feeling deep inside. Being able to speak and understand Spanish for a few seconds there was kind of a surprise though. Still, he was happy and he was excited to remember something nice for once and everyone seemed to be happy for him. Except Keith. Keith was nowhere around. He didn’t even stick around for flan.

When he decided to excuse himself, Hunk gave him some more flan to eat when he got back to his room. It was nice. Hunk was nice. Tay-Lor didn’t end up going to his room. He went to Keith’s. Maybe he was there, maybe he wasn’t. If he wasn’t he could leave the flan for him on his bed or something.

He knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before the door opened. Keith was there and he looked surprised to see him. “Hey Tay-Lor. Do you need something?”

“You didn’t take any flan.” Said Tay-Lor. “... Do you not like flan?”

“No I do I-”

“Then why did you run away?”

“I didn’t run away! I just… I didn’t feel like I was really needed…” Muttered Keith. “I didn’t know Lance before Voltron. I don’t know anything about his family and what he liked to do back on earth. Me being around when you’re trying to remember Earth and your family… It isn’t productive. I can’t help you remember.”

Tay-Lor’s shoulders dropped as a pit forming in the bottom of his stomach. “Oh… Do you hate me now?”

“What?” Keith almost sounded horrified. “Tay-Lor, what are you saying?”

He shrugged. “Well I’m technically Lance. You’ve been in love with him for a while and we had sex. You’ve gone and fucked Lance and didn’t even… Here.” He pushed the flan into Keith’s hands. “I’ll just go now… Sorry I’m not a random alien… Things would have been simpler if I was...” He went to leave, but Keith quickly pulled him into his room. Tay-Lor stumbled and almost fell over. “What the fuck?”

He watched Keith quickly find a place to put the plate of food before he turned his attention back to Tay-Lor. He seemed a little flustered. “I’m not upset that you turned out to be Lance and not an alien. I’m upset because I don’t want you to think I like you because you look like Lance. I like you because you’re Tay-Lor and I don’t know how to convince you of that.”

“Keith…”

“A-and you’re trying to get your memories back.” He said quietly. “Before Voltron I didn’t know who you were… But you knew who I was. You saw me as your rival. What if you remember that part or like, all the passive aggressive shit we went through because we had that stupid rivalry? What if you start hating me?” Keith was trembling. He looked like he was about to cry.

Tay-Lor was shocked. He didn’t know Keith felt this deeply about him and had those kinds of fears. He reached out and gently hugged the red paladin. Keith froze for a moment before he slowly reached out and returned the hug. It was clumsy and awkward, it was warm.

“I’m not going to start hating you.” Said Tay-Lor. “Keith, I don’t think I could ever hate you… You invited me here. You’re the one that wanted me to come with you… I wanted to come with you.” He kissed Keith softly on the lips.

Keith seemed to pause for a moment before he returned the kiss. His lips were surprisingly soft and there was a hidden desperation behind it that pulled Tay-Lor in. He wanted more of that desperation from Keith. He wanted more of Keith wanting him. Keith needing him.

“Hmm, Tay-Lor.” Moaned the other.

Tay-Lor’s heart started speeding up as he kissed along Keith’s neck. “Yeah Keith?” He purred.

“... You taste like flan.”

And with that the mood was gone. Tay-Lor started to giggle, which made Keith laugh. They broke apart and smiled at each other. Keith seemed to have calmed down a lot by now, but still seemed kind of shy around him.

Tay-Lor smiled at him and gently cupped his face. “Keith, I don’t care if I don’t remember you, or if I remember that dumb rivalry thing we had. I still have my memories of when we met and everything in between… And I like you Keith. I really do. Lance had a crush on you, remember? He really liked you and I like you too… I don’t think there is a version of me that doesn’t like you.”

“... Really? I treated you so badly though.” Muttered Keith. “I… I was so passive aggressive towards you. I didn’t want to spend any time with you or tried to get to know you since you, Lance, always seemed to hate me and I didn’t understand what I did… Fuck I’m so confused...”

Tay-Lor understood how he felt. Tay-Lor was also unsure about his own feelings at times. Over the past few days he couldn’t help but question everything about himself. He was scared that if he remembered too much about his past he would lose who he was now. There was only so much he could lose before he just gave up and resigned himself to just losing himself over and over again.

“It’s okay Keith. We can be confused together.”


	22. Toys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of wrote this chapter while listening to JOLT by Unlike Pluto. I kind of feel like it captures Tay-Lor's mindset pretty accurately. So have a listen if you feel like it. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Tay-Lor continued with the treatments that Coran was giving him and over the next few weeks he slowly started to remember things. Mostly places, but not people. People seemed to be harder for him to remember compared to things like his house or the street he grew up on. It wasn’t much, but it was a good start.

Tay-Lor did like his memory of beaches. They were warm and he was pretty sure there was the smell of salt in the air. Hunk and Pidge did confirm that the beaches on Earth were salty. Pidge had helped Tay-Lor make a few locations on the holodeck that he could remember to try and help him remember earth better. It was nice.

He was currently walking along some white sandy beaches with his shoes off. The grains of sand felt nice on his feet. It was coarser than dirt, but still very soft. He grinned and continued to walk along . He considered going into the water, but Pidge had warned him against it. Everything looks real, but it wasn’t. He couldn’t go swimming there.

Being on the holodeck didn’t really help with his memories per say, but they did make him feel a little better. But he wasn’t going to tell Pidge and the others that though. They worked hard on it for him.

The door to the holodeck opened up and the simulation paused. Tay-Lor looked over to see Keith. “Hey.”

“Hey. What’s up?” Asked Ta-Lor. “Need anything?”

“We’re going to the swap moon.” He said. “We’ll be landing in twenty. Thought you might like to come with us? There will be a lot of different aliens there that you might be interested in?”

“Oh, sure.” Tay-Lor was more than happy to see other aliens. Zell would probably be happy to go there too. He wondered if there would be a lot of people there. Maybe too many people… He wasn’t used to being around so many people without his mask. “... Can I wear my mask?”

Keith shrugged. “If you want to you can. But you need to get a move on.”

Tay-Lor nodded and quickly went to get his mask. Though he didn’t wear it anymore it was a big comfort for him. It gave him some security. Also he did like the fact that the mask had some good filters gave him some security too.

When they got to the swap moon Zell remarked how things had become more modern since he had last been to one. The Paladin’s quickly went off to do their shopping. The only ones that stayed near the entrance were Zell, Tay-Lor, and Keith.

Zell gave the two of them a strange look. “I’m just going to walk around… Do you want to come with me or do you have somewhere you want to be?”

“I was going to show Tay-lor some shops I think he might like.” Said Keith. “You can come along if you like?”

Zell shook his head and happily backed off. “Oh no. You two do what you need to do. Have fun.” He quickly headed off and disappeared in the crowd of aliens. Tay-Lor couldn’t help but watch the other aliens around him. They were all so odd.

He felt a slight tug at his hand and looked down. Keith was holding his hand. “Come on. I want to show you some things.”

Tay-Lor smiled a little and followed Keith. Every now and then something would catch his interest and Tay-Lor would stop at a window and ask Keith what it was. For the most part Keith didn’t know, but they started to make a game out of it. Tay-Lor would find something and they would make up what it was used for if they didn’t know.

They got to a knife shop and Keith went inside. Tay-Lor appreciated this place. Hell, he did appreciate any and all weapons. He liked practical weapons. However he didn’t like weapons that looked like they were meant to be decorative. Decorative weapons were dumb in Tay-Lor’s opinion. The only weapons that should be on display were weapons that got used. Not some still two inch rainbow thing that couldn’t even peel the skin off a soft fruit.

He walked around the shop while Keith seemed to be staring at two different knives in a display case. He looked over his shoulder to see what Keith was after. It looked like he was trying to decide between a curved blade with a leather grip and a straight dagger with a bone handle. The bone one looked more tactical but the curved one looked aesthetically pleasing. It was probably a very specialised knife.

“... What are you going to get?”

“Not sure… They both look good.”

“Get the practical one.”

“They are both practical.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Tay-Lor frowned and looked at the knives. “... I don’t see it.”

Keith ended up buying them both. After that they continued to look around and Tay-Lor happened to spy a toy store with some very familiar looking robot lions in it. Ta-Lor tilted his head in confusion and Keith looked over at the store.

“Yeah… Coran kind of signed some stuff so now people are making Voltron toys.” Said Keith. “We also used to do this thing called the Voltron Show… Want to have a look?”

“Sure.”

The two of them went to the toy store and Tay-Lor had a look at some of the Voltron toys. Lots of soft toys. He did like the plushy of Blue. Her eyes lit up and she made a small roar when her paw was squeezed. There were also some plastic toy versions of the lions that boasted that if you bought all five you could make Voltron. Which was apparently a more humanoid looking robot.

“... Huh. So that’s Voltron.”

“Yeah… You see anything that you like?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I kind of like the smaller ones… I want to buy all five. It looks interesting.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith quickly grabbed them and passed a few for Tay-Lor to hold. “Come on. Let;s get these and you can form Voltron when we get back to the castle ship.”

“Thanks.” Tay-Lor couldn’t help but smile. He was happy. He finally figured out what Voltron was and he got some Voltron stuff out of it. He could probably decorate his room a little more now with some stuff. The two eventually went and met up with everyone at the foodcourt. Everyone was happy with what they got and went back to the castle ship. 

Tay-Lor went back to his room with the toys Keith had bought for him and happily sat in his room putting the toys together to form Voltron. It was pretty neat and he put Voltron on his shelf with his mask.

He smiled at it for a bit before he took it off the shelf and sat at his desk. Tay-Lor took Voltron apart. “...” He moved the toys around like they were in a mock battle. It made him smile a little to move the toys around. But after a while he started to move the toys with more purpose and direction. He needed something for the battleship… He didn’t have anything for the battleships.

***

“Okay, who took all the forks?” Asked Hunk. “And the spoons, and the plates, and the cups?”

Pidge looked up from her new gadget and shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t been in the kitchen since breakfast.”

Keith shrugged. “Not me. Maybe it was the space mice? They do tend to hoard stuff sometimes… Or maybe Coran took it for some reason?”

Hunk sighed. “Maybe… I guess I’ll check Allura’s room...” Hunk left the lounge area and headed to the Princess’s room.

Zell tilted his head and lightly clocked his pincers. “The space mice hoard stuff?”

Pidge nodded. “Yep. Though they don’t really go after stuff in the kitchen. They know better than to mess with Hunk.”

“He has struck fear into those creatures?”

“Yep. The fear of no food.”

Coran walked into the room looking rather confused. “Ah, there you are. Have any of you seen my crystal collection?”

“You collect crystals?” Asked Pidge.

The man nodded and happily twirled his moustache. “Why yes. They are mementos from my days traveling the Worobelem star system. The crystals have a sentimental value to them. I keep them in a green box with a silver lock. Have you not seen them? The crystals are very colourful.”

Keith shrugged. “We’ll keep an eye out for them.” 

“Thanks number two.”

Coran was about to leave when Allura walked in with Hunk. Pidge waved at them. “So did the space mice take your stuff?”

Hunk shook his head. “Apparently not.”

“But someone has taken some of my things.” Said Allura. “I have some different ribbons I use as hair ties but they are not there anymore. The space mice aren’t to blame either.”

As she was talking Shiro walked in. He looked kind of confused. “Is something wrong with Tay-Lor?”

That immediately caught Keith’s attention. “Why? Did something happen?”

“Well I saw him walking around with a bunch of stuff a while ago.” Said Shiro. “Then when I passed his room just now there were some weird noises coming from there…”

“I’ll go and check on him.” Said Keith immediately. “Probably nothing, though, right?”

“Want someone to come with you?” Asked Hunk.

“It’ll be fine.” Said Keith. “If I need anyone I’ll just call you over.” Keith headed to Tay-Lor’s room. He had a twisting feeling in his guts. He didn’t think anything bad was happening, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He got to Tay-Lor’s door and heard some scratching. “. Tay-Lor?” He pressed his ear to the door and heard more scratching along with muttering.

If Keith strained his hearing he could kind of hear Tay-Lor talking to himself. “We need to form Voltron. We should have done that instead of sneaking on board. Well, you should have thought about that before you saved that program in the wrong file. Yeah buddy. Come on guys it was an accident. No time to argue we need to place the bomb and leave.”

“... I’m opening the door.” Keith opened the door, but wasn’t expecting what he saw. 

The room was covered in cutlery. Most of it was bent or broken. Coran’s missing crystals were wrapped in Allura’s ribbon and hanging from the ceiling. They were held in place with more broken cutlery stabbed into the ceiling. The rest of the room was covered with different symbols and strange drawings. Tay-Lor himself was crouched down with the lion toys around him. He was holding Green and Yellow in each hand. He was bobbing them up and down when they were “talking”.

Keith quickly called for backup because this probably called for backup. “Tay-Lor? Are you doing okay?”

Tay-Lor ignored him and moved the Green lion. “Well, it’s all set up. Time to get moving guys.” He started moving the Yellow lion. “Wait, did you hear that?” He moved Green. “Probably just the Galra. You know, Shiro and Keith are kind of destroying their fleet.” He moved Yellow some more. “True… But I don’t know. We should get the heck out of here now.” Tay-Lor stopped moving the toys. “So we just hit the button and run?” He made a dismissive sound and moved Green. “No shit. Come on. We gotta move. Now. We gotta get going.”

The others came by but Keith gestured for them to keep their voices down and just watch. The group very carefully looked into the room and instantly they all became very concerned. 

“What is he doing?” Asked Hunk. “Should we be worried about this?”

Tay-Lor continued to move the toys around and talk for Green and Yellow. “We’re not going to make it!” Said Tay-Lor as he moved Green. “There’s too many of them!” He stopped moving the toys and kept talking. “It’s okay guys. I got this one. You go on ahead. They couldn’t hit the broad side of a Weblum.”

“Oh shit…” Whispered Pidge. She grabbed Hunk’s arm and tugged on his sleeve. “Hunk. That’s what… Do you think he’s reliving his last memory as Lance?”

Keith froze in shock and looked at Tay-Lor as he watched him toss Green and Yellow to the side before he himself crumpled up into a call on the floor, letting out a shaky laugh. “Fuck… Oh fuck… Shit… I’m not going to make it… I’m not going to make it… I’m not going to make it… I'm a fucking idiot... I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.”

Allura quickly jumped into action with Shiro close behind. “Tay-Lor? Are you okay? Take a deep breath. Try and listen to me. Name five things you can see.”

“A-Allura…” He said quietly. “S-some plates… Forks, crystals, and the carpet…”

“That’s good.” Said Allura. “What about four things you can hear?”

“... My heart pounding in my ears.” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “The humming of the castle, You guys breathing heavily… and um… nervous tapping…”

Shiro smiled a little. “That’s good. Now three things you can touch?”

“... The carpet? My clothes?” Tay-Lor ran his fingers over his knuckles. “My skin?”

“Two things you can smell?” Asked Shiro.

“Allura’s perfume and… You know how rooms just smell stale? A stale smell.”

Allura smiled and very gently touched his head. “That’s good. And something you can taste?”

“... That weird spicy thing I ate in the space mall?”

Shiro crouched down next to him and very carefully helped Tay-Lor sit up right. “That’s good. Now, are you okay?”

Tay-Lor was shaking but he seemed to have calmed down a lot. “I’m fine… Just kind of blacked out there for a moment…” He looked up and looked around his room. Tay-Lor seemed confused by the state of his living quarters. “What happened to my room? Did I do this?”

“Apparently so. Are you okay Tay-Lor?”

“I-I’m sorry…” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “I-I’ll clean up. I promise… I… I don’t know what I was doing. I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay Tay-Lor.” Said Allura. “No one is upset with you.” She looked over at the paladin’s still standing in the doorway. “Please take Tay-Lor out of here while we fix things up here.”

“Sure. Thing.” Hunk went over and helped Tay-Lor stand. “Come on buddy. Let’s head down to the kitchen.”

“O-okay.” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “I’m still sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Said Pidge. “You coming Keith?”

“Um, yeah… Sure…” Keith followed behind his friends while the Alteans, Shiro and Zell stayed to clean things. He had never felt more useless than in that moment. He just stood there while Tay-Lor had a freak out. He was useless during the whole thing. He just stood back and let it happen.

The group sat down at the table and Hunk made Tay-Lor something to drink. Pidge sat by Tay-Lor, frowning a little. “Do you black out like that often?”

Tay-Lor shook his head. “I did in the beginning, but I stopped… I don’t know why I started again. It hadn’t happened for years…”

“Maybe it’s Coran’s treatment?” Suggested Pidge. “It is helping you remember everything so… Maybe back then when you first started blacking out it was your mind trying to remember everything but you know. It was having trouble?”

“... Maybe.” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “I-I don’t remember anything when I black out… W-what if I the next time I black out I don’t wake up?”

“What are you talking about?” Asked Hunk.

Tay-Lor stared deep into his cup for a moment before smiling weakly at them. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just freaking out over nothing… The black outs just mean everything is working, right? I’m remembering more.” He sighed a little and drank some of his drink. “Eventually I’ll remember everything and things can go back to normal…”

Hunk and Pidge tried to comfort Tay-Lor and give him words of encouragement while Keith just froze up again. He had a feeling he knew what Tay-Lor meant by not waking up from a black out. If Tay-Lor ended up blacking out one day but had all of Lance’s memories back, wouldn’t he, Tay-Lor, have died? If Lance was back things would go back to normal since no one needed Tay-Lor anymore.

Keith didn’t know what to say to comfort Tay-Lor and make him feel better. He reached out and gently patted his back. He was bad with his words but he hoped that he would understand his feelings.


	23. Questioning Self

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tay-Lor is still having a bad time... But he and Shiro have a heart to heart, kind of? Shiro is #1 space dad. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Most of Tay-Lor’s room got cleaned up, but the walls were pretty badly damaged. Tay-Lor ended up changing rooms again. He didn’t want to stay in that room after what he did to it. He said changing rooms wasn’t so bad. He just took his mask and left the Voltron Lion toys that Keith had bought him. He apparently didn’t want them anymore.

Keith took them and stored them away in his room. If Tay-Lor wanted them back he could give it to them. It was kind of depressing. He wasn’t sure what he wanted anymore. Lance was there, but he wasn’t there. It was kind of horrifying to see him acting like that and not being able to do anything.

Seeing Tay-Lor like that really put things into perspective for him. He was completely useless. He needed to use words for this. He couldn’t hit this problem away. Keith had to talk… Just talk… He sighed in annoyance as he laid down on his bed. It sucked.

He heard a knock at the door and opened it. Tay-Lor was there. Keith was a little surprised but let him in. “Hey, are you okay?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. Just… You know. Worried.”

“About?”

He shrugged. “I just… I’m scared of losing myself. Like, if I fall asleep what’s to say I won’t wake up as Lance and I’ll just be… Will it even matter if I’m not around anymore? I mean, Tay-Lor was important on Dotra, but Lance is important to the rest of the universe…”

“... What are you talking about?” Asked Keith. “Tay-Lor, you’re just as important as Lance was. You both deserve a chance to exist. Sure Lance kind of stopped existing unexpectedly, but that doesn’t matter. You’re here now and you do matter just as much as he did.”

Tay-Lor stared at him for a few seconds before smiling a little. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.” He awkwardly moved forward and hugged him.

“...” Keith tilted his head and lightly kissed his cheek. “I um… If you want you can stay here tonight.”

“... Is this a booty call?”

Keith’s face went bright red. “N-no! I was just-”

“I’m joking.” Said Tay-Lor quickly. “But yeah… I’d like that.”

The bed was kind of small, but they made it work. Keith kind of ended up spooning him, which Tay-Lor didn’t seem to mind. He actively held onto Keith’s arm and gently squeezed his hand. For the first time since Keith had met him, Tay-Lor seemed small. He wasn’t in control of himself and that was scary. He knew it was scary.

With his free hand, Keith ran his fingers through Tay-Lor’s hair. He hoped that the man felt it was soothing. It seemed like he was relaxing. He wasn’t getting any more tense, so that was a good start.

“Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“If I… If I’m gone one day, can you try and tell Lance about me? I know I’m not really the original or anything but I… Thinking that I’m just gonna to vanish one day I… Fuck, I don’t think I should keep doing Coran’s treatments…”

“You don’t have to.” Said Keith calmly. “You just do what you think is best… But you have been remembering more about earth, right?”

“Yeah. I have… I like beaches. They are nice. They are warm and peaceful.”

“They are…” He gently squeezed Tay-Lor’s body and drew him closer. “I’ll take you to a beach one day. One on earth. You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

The two of them stayed quiet after that and eventually fell asleep. Keith did his best not to fall asleep before Tay-Lor did, but he wasn’t sure if he did. They probably fell asleep around the same time as each other.

In the morning the two of them went to breakfast together. Zell was still perplexed by the food goo that was the Paladin’s stable diet. He would poke it and awkwardly poke it with his pincers. His pincers slid through the goo as he tried to eat it. It wasn’t working.

The alien sighed heavily. “Hunk? Is there something I can mix in with this to make it a little more solid? The consistency is difficult to eat.”

“Sure thing.” Said Hunk. “Just give me a moment.”

Keith and Tay-Lor sat down at the table. Hunk got them some food and Tay-Lor quietly thanked him and ate it. Pidge pointed her spoon at the pair from the other side of the table. “You feeling any better today Tay-Lor?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I’m fine I guess. Nothing much I can do about it.” He poked at the food goo. “Sorry I worried you all before. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s fine.” Said Pidge. “As long as you didn’t go and like, hurt yourself.”

Tay-Lor smiled a little and finished eating. “I um… I’m just going to go for a walk today… Maybe find something to buff out the scratch marks in my room…”

Zell shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Just go for your walk. If you feel like it, swing by the training room.”

“Okay.” Tay-Lor put his plate away and left the room.

Keith wanted to follow him just in case something else happened to him, but he was still painfully aware that he wasn’t going to be able to help Tay-Lor at all if anything happened to him. He was just so useless. He sighed a little and poked at the food goo with his fork. Keith was a fighter. He didn’t do emotional stuff.

***

Tay-Lor wandered around the castle for a while and ended up in the hangar with the lions. They were more impressive than the toys Keith had gotten for him. Now he felt bad about not taking them with him when he left his other room. He felt bad about that. About everything. Nothing was working for him. Maybe he should have just stayed on Dotra?

He sat down on a cargo container and looked up at the closest lion. Blue. Obviously this was Lance’s lion considering Lance was known as the Blue Paladin. Did he talk to Blue? Could he talk to Blue? Maybe even just to vent?

Tay-Lor sighed a little and looked at the giant robot. “Hi there Blue… Um… How are you? I’m doing… I’m alive, for now.” The Lion stayed still. “Yeah… I thought as much. Am I good enough? Like, as I am now? I don’t know much about Voltron but you Lions apparently chose your Paladin’s or something? Would you have chosen me? Is Tay-Lor good enough?” 

Blue continued to stay standing there as still as can be. What was Tay-Lor expecting anyway? Blue wouldn’t respond to him. She’d just respond to Lance. Only Lance. Tay-Lor wasn’t a Paladin. Tay-Lor wasn’t good enough. He felt hot, angry tears building up behind his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter does it?” He muttered bitterly. “No one in this whole fucking universe wants Tay-Lor around. Everyone wants Lance. What the fuck was so good about Lance? He fucking died! I survived! I’ve almost died so many times! How many times had he faced death in the face and told the reaper to bend over and bite the pillow? I am a fucking god compared to him!” 

He sniffled and tried desperately to stop his tears from falling. He was better than Lance. He was. Really he was. He was a fighter. He was going to keep on fighting no matter what. He was worthy of living this life. He was worthy of being Tay-Lor. He earned it. Right?

“I… I’m worthy aren’t I? Am I a shitty person compared to him? Am I a bad person?”

“Are you okay?” Asked Shiro. He was walking towards him while carrying some cleaning supplies.

Tay-Lor sniffled and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine… Just… It was starting to become a little overwhelming… Lance, Tay-Lor… Tay-Lor, Lance… I just… Do you know what it feels like to be a stranger in your own body? Like your whole personality is just… I-I’m scared.”

“...” Shiro put his hand on Tay-Lor’s shoulder. The physical contact seemed to calm him down and ground him. “It’s okay to be scared. After what you’ve been through I’d be surprised if you weren’t. I mean, I’m still not okay.”

“... Really?”

Shiro nodded and sat next to him. “Yeah. I get nightmares and flashbacks from when I was caught by the Galra. Some of it is…” He looked down at his arm. “It can get pretty horrible.”

Tay-Lor nodded a little and looked down at the things Shiro brought along with him. “So what were you going to do with that?”

“I was going to give Black a wash.”

“I see… Well I’ve taken up enough of your time. You just go and do your thing.” 

“I don’t mind sitting with you. You’re part of our team.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. “Um, no. Lance was part of your team. The only reason you care about me is because you guys are all hopeful that one day I’ll remember that I am Lance. When I’m not. I’m Tay-Lor…” He gestured up at Blue. “Even this weird ass thing knows I’m not Lance. Blue would have done something if they felt I was Lance, but they haven’t because I’m not… I’m not… I’m not part of the Voltron team...”

Shiro sighed a little and shrugged. “Okay, so you aren’t part of Voltron. Not in the way Lance used to be, but we all care about you. Especially Keith.”

Tay-Lor rolled his eyes. “That’s just because we fucked before he knew I was Lance.”

“...” Shiro awkwardly cleared his throat. “Well… um… Okay, so you two did that stuff before that whole revelation came up-”

“Twice. We fucked twice.”

“... Right. Twice.” He cleared his throat again. “A-anyway, Keith really cares about you and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care if you’re Tay-Lor or Lance. He just wants you to be happy. Keith isn’t the best when it comes to emotions but he’s come far over the past few years. He wants the people he cares about to be happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… Did he ask you to come with us when we were on Dotra?”

A small smile tugged at Tay-Lor’s mouth. “Yeah. After the second time… He just… He didn’t know what my face looked like, or knew I was Lance but he still wanted me to go with you guys… I made a joke about him missing my ass too much to leave it behind.”

“Well, that’s something, right?” Asked Shiro. “Keith cared about you way before all of this. He cares about Tay-Lor. Not Lance.”

“He’s in love with Lance.”

“Not really.” Said Shiro calmly. “If I’m being completely honest I think Keith only fell for Lance because he watched Lance’s videos and he feels guilty about not noticing how Lance felt when he had the chance.”

“... So Keith was never really in love with Lance?” Asked Tay-Lor.

Shiro shrugged. “That’s just my theory anyway. Keith didn’t show much of an interest in Lance when he was around in the first place. I think that maybe over time if things progressed naturally they might have ended up together, but no we will never know.”

“Yeah…” Tay-Lor looked down at his feet and lightly kicked at the floor. “Am I… Am I good enough?”

“For who? Keith or yourself?”

“... I don’t know.”

“You’re a good person Tay-Lor. Take it from me, I know what bad is and you, you’re not bad.”

“Thanks…”

Shiro patted his back. “In a few quintants we’re going to be meeting up with a branch of the rebel’s that Matt works with. If you and Zell want to join them, we aren’t going to stop you.”

“... Really? You’ll just let me go?”

The older man chuckled and stood up. “We aren’t keeping you captive here Tay-Lor. If you don’t feel comfortable here we aren’t going to make you stay. Fighting the good fight with the rebels is just as good as fighting on the front lines. You are a capable fighter and your skills can’t be replaced. Tay-Lor, you’re irreplaceable.”

“... Thanks Shiro.” He also stood up and stretched. “Well, I’ll give you and Black some privacy. Have fun.”

“Okay. Bye Tay-Lor.”

Tay-Lor waved and started to head out of the room. When he was at the door he heard something. It sounded like a whisper. 

_Tay-Lor._

He quickly turned around and looked over at Shiro. “Yeah?!” He called.

Shiro looked up at him with a cleaning cloth in hand. “Huh?!”

“Did you need something?!”

“... No?! Why?!”

“... Never mind!” Tay-Lor quickly left the hanggar and shook his head. Just walking around wasn’t helping him. He’d just go to the training room and beat the shit out of something. Or find Zell and get him to come to the training room with him so they could beat the shit out of things together.


	24. Lions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, ha, ha... I am ready for you all to be mad at me! BRING IT! DO IT! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I have had way too much coffee and not nearly enough sleep... Also because songs have been requested, look up the song Stay Away by Apocalyptica. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Tay-Lor was starting to spend more time in the hanngar with Blue. He just stared at the big robot for hours on end. It was kind of weird for the paladin’s to go into the hanggar to look after their own lions just to see Tay-Lor there looking at Blue. It kind of creeped Allura out the most since Blue was her lion now.

She walked up to him with a bucket of cleaning supplies in his hands and she smiled at him. “Would you like to help me clean her? You’ve been staring at her a lot lately.”

“... Sure.” He followed Allura as Blue lowered her head and the two of them walked inside. The cockpit was interesting to say the least. It looked similar to the one in Red. He walked up to the console and lightly ran his fingers over it.

“... Do you remember flying her?” Asked Allura as he handed him a cloth.

Tay-Lor shook his head. “Not even a little… So Lance used to fly this huh? And now you do?”

“Yes…” Allura put her hand on the chair. “But the one that chose Lance and I was Blue. She Saw something in Lance and they just clicked. I’m just the second choice after he… I get along well with Blue, but Blue will always be Lance’s lion.”

“Yeah… Lance’s lion…” Muttered Tay-Lor.

Allura frowned a little and patted his shoulder. “You’re better than you think you are… So Coran said you’re not doing treatments anymore?”

“I don’t want to have another one of those episodes.” Muttered Tay-Lor. “It was… It felt like my head was being split open with an axe the whole time. I felt like shit.”

“... I’m sorry you felt that way.” Said Allura quietly. “Just wipe down the console, I’ve got some things to check in the back.”

“Okay.”

Allura quickly left and Tay-Lor went about cleaning the cockpit. Allura had taken pretty good care of it so there wasn’t much for him to do. He sighed and sat on the chair. He slumped and ran one of his hands over the arm. 

“He was pretty amazing huh?” He asked no one in particular. “Lance was… I’m sorry that I can’t live up to his expectations. He must have been really amazing to be able to be a Paladin and-” The seat suddenly flew forward and almost threw Tay-Lor out. 

But he managed to grab hold of the arms of the chair and stop himself from getting his face smashed against the console. He threw his head back against the chair and felt the wind getting knocked out of himself. Like he’d been punched in guts.

Tay-Lor groaned and slowly stood up. “What the fuck Blue?” He opened his eyes and felt cold. He wasn’t there in the cockpit anymore. It was like he was standing in some purple nebula. “... WHAT THE FUCK BLUE?!”

Tay-Lor was freaking the fuck out and trying to figure out how to get out of this weird place. What the hell was this meant to be? Some world beyond or something? Did he just fucking die again? Holy shit, if he died again he was going to scream. For a brief moment he hoped that the next personality would be a better man.

He slapped himself. “What the fuck? No. Not that. I’m not dead… Not going to die… Not like this. I already said if I was going to die something better be ripping me apart and eating me damn it!”

Tay-Lor cautiously walked around this strange plane of existence as he tried to figure out what the hell was happening. It was just so… He didn’t know what to do. He was starting to think he might actually be dead.

Off in the distance he saw something kind of fuzzy and glitchy. Tay-Lor didn’t like it but he moved towards it. They were dressed in paladin armour. When Tay-Lor got close enough he recognised them as Lance. Him, but younger. Like the A.I. Pidge had made. 

“... What the fuck?” Tay-Lor reached out and ran his fingers through it. His fingers tingled as the image disappeared. As it did, words started to ring through his ears in stutters and echoes. 

_H-He’s always trying TO ONE u-up me… Y-you’re c-crazy! You’re GONNA get US ALL killed._

Tay-Lor quickly shook his head. “Nope! Not doing this! If I am fucking dead I’m dead! Stop it! Just stop!”

_W-we did it… W-we are a g-good team..._

“SHUT UP!” He yelled at the nothingness. “YOU ARE NOT HELPING ME!”

Everything became quiet for a few ticks before his body was thrown several feet into the air by a massive soundwave. He fell and hit the ground with a groan. Looking up he saw Blue. She was standing there and looking down at him.

“... WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!” Tay-Lor screamed. “I’M NOT LANCE! I’M NOT LANCE! I’M NOT! I’M NOT! I’M NOT!”

There was another thump that knocked Tay-Lor onto his ass and then another, and another, and another. The other lions were there too. What the fuck was this? Some kind of weird sentient lion intervention? Did they all want Lance back?

“Y-you all just want Lance back, don’t you?” He asked. “You just want him back? Everyone wants Lance. It’s all Lance this and Lance that huh? I thought that if I went with Keith I could still be me, but I can’t can I? I’ll never be allowed to be me am I?” Tay-Lor couldn’t help himself. In this situation all he could do was laugh. “Voltron’s the saviour of the universe, right? So why the fuck can’t you save me? Am I lesser than everyone else just because I wasn’t born as Tay-Lor? Is the universe really worse off with me existing and not Lance?”

The Lions looked down at him like they were judging him. He knew they were judging him. What else would they be doing? They were weird sentian lions that just judged people without even really knowing them. They didn’t know him. They didn’t know Tay-Lor.

There was a flash of light that nearly blinded Tay-Lor. When it died down he was face to face with Voltron in all their glory. This was Voltron. The thing everyone was so hyped up about. The thing everyone was going crazy about.

Tay-Lor couldn’t help but feel fearful when he looked up at them and they looked down at him with a sword and shield in hand. He gulped.

“V-Voltron?”

_Tay-Lor._

They raised their sword and swung it down.

***

Keith was heading to the medbay with Shiro. During their little sparring session Keith ended up spraining his wrist when he did a bad block. He was not very happy about it. Shiro just told him to take it as a learning experience.

“Told you to keep your wrist straight.”

“I know…” Grumbled Keith.

Shiro patted his back. “It’ll be fine… How are things going with Tay-Lor?”

“... Slow.” Said Keith. “I um… I don’t really know if he wants anything from me anymore. I mean, he hasn’t really done anything to suggest he wants to be with me…” He muttered awkwardly. 

Keith clearly remembered Tay-Lor coming to his room and crawling into his bed. Hell, Keith kissed his cheek but it wasn’t necessarily anything romantic. It was more like he was trying to comfort him. Tay-Lor hadn’t tried to make a move on him either. Maybe he wasn’t as good in bed as he thought he might be? Maybe Tay-Lor just didn’t actually like him as much as Keith liked him. Maybe. He still wasn’t sure about his feelings for Tay-Lor.

“Have you done anything to let him know you like him?” Asked Shiro “Or do you still not know how you feel?”

Keith shrugged. “I… I think I like him? How did you know you liked Adam?”

Shiro shrugged. “He made me happy… When I saw him I always felt a little lighter. I was never upset or angry to see him… I wanted to do things for him to make him happy. I was happy when he surprised me with things and I liked getting things for him. Just being with him made me happy and I… I could see myself having a future with him. Hope that helped?”

Keith nodded a little. When he thought about Tay-Lor, he couldn’t help but think about Lance too. In the early days of Voltron, Keith didn’t think much about Lance. He was just a fun teammate that always had everyone’s back and Keith… Keith was still angsty and trying to learn how to trust people besides Shiro. Lance’s advances to be his friend were quickly shut down by him not trusting he wouldn’t stab him in the back.

He kind of wished that he hadn’t been so standoffish in the first place. Things might have changed if he hadn’t been such an idiot. He missed out on so much. If Keith could go back in time he would slap himself and tell him to just kiss the boy because damn, he needed to realize how happy Lance could make him and how happy he could make Lance.

Tay-Lor made him happy too. He was nice and kind, a little confused, but he made him happy and Keith wanted to make him happy. Even before finding out Tay-Lor was Lance. He wanted to take Tay-Lor away from Dotra and make him feel wanted and needed. That’s why he wanted Tay-Lor with him, even if it was only for a few days. Maybe he did love Tay-Lor? Like he really did? He wasn’t sure.

They heard the sound of something running towards them. They turned just in time to see Allura running past carrying an unconscious Tay-Lor in her arms. “Out of the way!” She yelled. “Out of the way! Emergency!”

The two Paladin’s quickly jumped back as she rushed past them. They shared a look and quickly ran after her. Allura got to the medbay before they did, and she had already placed Tay-Lor in a healing pod. Thick trails of blood were trickling out of his nose and ears.

“... What the fuck happened to him?!” Asked Keith in shock.

Allura shrugged and started hitting buttons on the side of the pod while Shiro was calling for Coran. “I was just getting Tay-Lor to help me clean Blue. He’s always staring at them and I just thought… I left him in the cockpit for a few ticks and when I came back he was in the seat and bleeding. I grabbed him and brought him here… I have no idea what happened to him…”

Once again Keith was completely useless as he stood back and watched everyone come in and fuss over Tay-Lor. He watched as Coran and Zell came in. The two of them came in with Coran taking over the medical equipment, and Zell walking over to the healing pod and poking it a few times. Pidge and Hunk came in too. They questioned Allura and tried to figure out what was going on with him.

While they were worrying about Tay-Lor, Shiro moved Keith to the side and helped him with his wrist. Though he did feel guilty about needing any medical help when Tay-Lor needed more help then him.

When Shiro was done with him, Keith quietly left the room. There was no point with him staying there. He couldn’t do anything for him. He never could. He’d never be able to give Tay-Lor any medical help. The best thing he could do was just keep out of the way.

No one even noticed that Keith was gone until a few varge’s later. Keith had escaped to his room and heard a knock at the door. Much to his surprise it was Zell with a plate of food goo. He offered it to him.

“Here. Eat.”

“... Thanks?” Keith took the food from him, but when Zell didn’t move he started to feel awkward. “Do you want to come in?”

Zell quickly walked inside his room. “How are you feeling?”

Keith shrugged and sat on his bed. “I’m fine. But shouldn’t you be asking Tay-Lor that? Then again he is in a healing pod now…”

“True…”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“According to Coran his eardrums blew out and something about sinuses and blood vessels bursting. Not too sure about losing consciousness thing though.”

“Oh…” Keith sighed. “So he could have had a seizure or some weird memory thing happen again and no one would know?”

“Probably not until he wakes up.”

“Okay…”

“... So are you and Tay-Lor a thing now or what?”

Keith went bright red. “What?!”

Zell shrugged. “Well you two fucked a few times, right?”

“... So he talks about sex with you huh?”

Zell shrugged again. “Sometimes. Usually only when it’s particularly bad or good.”

“Oh…” For some reason Keith felt like he was probably in the bad category. He didn’t know why, but it felt like that was the case. “Um, why would we even be together?”

“You’ve fucked more than once?”

“That doesn’t constitute a relationship with humans!”

Zell seemed a little surprised. “Oh… Interesting… Well, eat your dinner. Tay-Lor will be out in a bit I’m sure.”

“Yeah… Probably. Thanks Zell.” The other alien left and Keith ate a few mouthfuls of his food goo. Still gross like always. He quickly finished and lied back on his bed. Hopefully he could fall asleep soon.

***

Keith had been laying with his eyes closed for what felt like hours before he heard the whooshing sound of someone opening his bedroom door. Probably Shiro coming in to check on him. “I’m fine. You can go.”

“... Do you really want me to go?” Asked Tay-Lor. In an instant Keith was sitting up. Tay-Lor was standing there and awkwardly smiling at him. “Hey…”

“Hey there yourself. Are you okay?” He pulled Tay-Lor over so he was sitting on the bed beside him. “What the fuck happened? Allura was running with you in her arms and-”

“Shush…” Said Tay-Lor. He gently held Keith’s hand and squeezed. “Keith I… I kind of just walked out of the healing pod and cleaned my face before coming here. Didn’t look around to see what was wrong with me.”

“Oh… Well you should probably stay in the medbay in case something happens.”

“Like what? Not like I can get even more mentally fucked up then I already am.” Said Tay-Lor.

“I guess…” Keith sighed and held Tay-Lor’s hand. “What happened? Allura said you passed out in Blue’s cockpit. You… You need to stop scaring me- I mean us. You need to stop scaring us.”

Tay-Lor smirked. “Really?”

“Really. I’m tired of seeing you get hurt.”

“You gonna cry?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Come on man, you didn’t cry this hard for me any other time. Like when I took a freaking explosion to the back for Coran.”

“To be fair I was kind of shell shocked and…” Keith frowned. “Tay-Lor, did you read something about Sendak attacking the castle?” Suddenly Keith was on his back and staring up at Tay-Lor who was looking down at him with hazy eyes. “... Tay-Lor? Are you okay?”

“Who said I was Tay-Lor anymore?”

“Wait, but… Lance?”

The man ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Keith was shocked for a moment before he quickly melted into the kiss. He pulled on his shirt and tried to press himself up against this man. Keith gently bit his lip and caused the other to moan softly into Keith’s mouth.

Keith put his hands on his chest and gently pushed him back. “W-wait! Are you Lance? Like, seriously. I don’t know. Are you Tay-Lor or Lance?”

They shrugged and smiled down at him. “Does it really matter who I am? Don’t you love us both? You’ve pined for Lance and you’ve lusted for Tay-Lor. Are we really that much different to you? Does it really matter?”

“I… I… I um…” Keith didn’t really know what to think. “I… I guess it doesn’t matter. I love you both.”

The man smiled softly down at him. “Good. We both love you too.”

“But what do I call you?” Asked Keith.

“Why?” He asked. “What does my name matter?”

“I-I want to know what to call you…” Said Keith quietly. “When we… You know… Have sex… I want to call your name and your name only…”

They seemed surprised for a moment before their expression softened. “Okay. My name is-”

***

Keith’s eyes snapped open. He was alone in his bed. He quickly threw off his sheets and practically ran to the medbay. He had to see him. He had to make sure that Tay-Lor was still there. If the doors weren’t automatic he would have thrown them open.

When he got there he quickly ran to Tay-Lor’s healing pod and paused. Tay-Lor was still inside. The dried blood was still caked on his face while his vitals were stable. He was fine. He was as safe as he was going to be.

Keith sighed and sank down to his knees in front of him. All the adrenaline pumping through his body was finally dying down now just making him feel drained. He pressed his hands and forehead against the glass.

“Tay-Lor… Lance… Whatever you want to be called just please… Please come back to me… I can’t keep losing you…”


	25. Rebels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go my lovelies. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

Tay-Lor still wasn’t awake by the time they met up with the rebels. It was troublesome. Matt and Pidge were more than happy to catch up. They hadn’t been able to talk for a while, but Pidge was more than happy to update Matt about what was going on. 

They exchanged stories and information with them about the Galra and what information they had discovered about them so far. Inevitably Allura had to talk about their recent trip to Dotra and what they found out about nuleum.

“While it is a powerful source of energy there is no way we can use it.” Said Allura calmly. “The Empress won’t let anyone take it off planet. When the nulites die their bodies crystalize and a frequency emitted by locals prevent the crystals from becoming volatile and exploding.”

Matt couldn’t help but cringe. “Damn, to think something so powerful is made from dead people…”

“Fossil fuels.” Said Pidge.

“Fair enough. Anyway, anything else happen on Dotra?”

Everyone was a little nervous to mention it, but it had to be done. “We found Lance.” Said Pidge. “But it wasn’t Lance… He has amnesia. He goes by Tay-Lor now.”

Matt nodded a little. “Ah, okay? Where is he?” The Paladin’s filled him in on the details and the man just nodded along. He looked concerned. “Could be a weird lion’s thing? Like, Tay-Lor was inside Blue and he did pilot Blue? You never know?”

Allura frowned. “Like some test? To see if he is worthy to pilot Blue again?”

Matt shrugged. “Maybe? Lot of strange things in the universe and who knows? Stranger things have happened.”

“That is true…” Muttered Allura. She seemed to be taking this into consideration. 

Keith didn’t really know what to think about this, He really hoped it wasn’t Blue doing something to him. Tay-Lor deserved better, didn’t he need this… But then again he could have just gotten really sick or something? Right? He was just overthinking stuff.

Suddenly Coran jumped up as he looked at his data pad. “Good timing! Tay-Lor is going to be out in a few ticks. He quickly ran off to the medbay with the Paladins, Matt, and Zell quickly following. By the time they got there Tay-Lor was stretching in the middle of the room, looking kind of dazed and confused. 

“How are you feeling Tay-Lor?” Asked Coran. “A little woozy?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Yeah… Kind of tired. I want to go back to my room and nap.” He looked over at Matt. “... Pidge’s brother right? Matt?”

Matt smiled a little and shook his hand. “Yeah. Nice to meet you too. I’m part of the rebels group. You and Zell are welcome to join us if you feel like it.”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I’ll be able to make a decision when I’ve gone and slept on it.” He aimlessly wandered past the Paladin’s as if they weren’t even there. Zell quickly followed him to make sure he was okay. 

Keith kind of wanted to follow him, but again he just felt like no matter what he did he was going to make it worse for Tay-Lor. That seemed to be his speciality lately. He also felt extremely guilty for the rather perverted dreams he’d had about Tay-Lor as of late. He shouldn’t feel bad about his mind wanting things that were out of his control. 

“So, that’s Tay-Lor huh?” Questioned Matt. “Did he really beat all of you single handedly?”

Pidge punched his arm.

***

Tay-Lor walked into his room and flopped onto the bed, burying his face into his pillow. His head was still swimming. He felt like everything was in the fog. He didn’t really remember or know what really happened. He felt dizzy and only vaguely remembered what happened. He only really remembered getting smacked with a sword. Repeatedly. Maybe there was a shield bash in there? Either way his head hurt.

Zell sat next to him. “So…”

“So?”

“You still feeling like the usual kind of shit you do when you wake up from a long sleep?”

“Yeah…” Tay-Lor sighed and hugged his pillow. “I still feel like complete shit. So the rebels huh?” The two of them had been talking about perhaps joining the rebels for a while now. Tay-Lor did enjoy being around the Paladin’s but there was too much baggage. They might have been calling him Tay-Lor, but he could tell that they were hoping for Lance. If he was off with the rebels he could just be Tay-Lor.

Zell nodded. “Yeah. I’m going to have a more indepth talk with Matt once he is done with the Paladins. I want to see if they are a good fit for us.” He smiled a little and gently patted Tay-Lor’s back. “Do you want to go with them? They are aliens too whereas the Paladin’s are human. You might enjoy being around them a lot more?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “I don’t know… Are you just saying that because of Keith?”

“Well you two were getting close. I assumed there was something there.”

“... I think anything that might have been there died when he found out I used to be Lance.” He muttered. “Do you think it was a mistake to leave Dotra?”

“No.” Said Zell calmly. “I had a feeling deep within me that my time there was up as soon as I saw the Paladin’s. Though I wasn’t sure if that meant I was leaving in with them or if I was going to die… You never really told me, but what was the reasoning Princess Flos made to make you come here?”

“... Funny story really.”

***

Tay-Lor had actually followed the Paladin’s back into the jungle on the day that they were due to leave. He had already said his own goodbyes to Zell earlier. He was upset that his mentor and the only other non-natives to earn the rank of full mask was leaving the planet for good. He was also sad to see them all go again. 

Especially Keith. He asked him to leave the planet with him in earnest. Tay-Lor actually really wanted to go with him too. Keith made him feel happy and wanted. He was kind to him and made him smile and laugh. Keith tried to protect him and make him feel like he actually mattered and he wasn’t some gimmick or sideshow. 

But when it came to light that he was Lance he couldn’t help but feel depressed. He’d been forced to remove his mask and show everyone his face. There was no grand reveal. No flowers or roses with bird song. He wanted to get to know Keith more and maybe actually get to know him but now? Now he was just the love that Keith would never get.

“... Are you okay?” Asked Flos.

Tay-Lor jumped a little and looked over at her. “Hey Princess, what’s up? You coming to see the Paladin’s off too?”

She shrugged. “Well, one paladin in particular.”

“Aw, am I no longer good enough for you?” He asked.

Flos chuckled and patted his head. “No. You’re still the one for me… But you like Keith. Don’t you? Or at least he likes you. I’ve seen how he’s looked at you before you all even knew who you were.”

“Oh…” Tay-Lor looked over into the clearing where they were still in the middle of packing things away. He could see Keith standing by the Red lion and his heart squeezed heavily in his chest. “So, you’re okay with me wanting to be with someone else? Not going to pitch a fit?”

She shrugged. “I’m annoyed, but I’m sure I’ll get over it. I’m not a shallow and weak little flower. I am going to be the Empress of Dotra in a few deco-phoebes... I still would have loved it if you were there by my side.”

“I know… Sorry to ruin your plans.”

“It’s fine. As the Empress I need to put my people’s will over myself.” She said calmly. “I consider you one of my people. In my mind you are always a neulite. So your happiness is important to me… It would be selfish of me to expect you to stay here forever when your people are out there among the stars. One day maybe the nulites will be able to get past our own atmosphere and join you?”

“Maybe.”

She smiled softly at him. “Yeah, now go on. Get out of here before they-” The Yellow and Red lion started to hover in the air. “-take off…”

“Shit.” Hiss Tay-Lor. “... I fucked up again.”

“... Double jump.” Said Flos. You stand on my hands, I jump, and you jump again when I throw you up.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“... Thank you.” He quickly hugged her and she hugged him back. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Said the Princess sadly. “Now you come back here time you want. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t. Promise.”

“And if you’re still single when you get back, we are so eloping.”

Tay-Lor chuckled. “Some things never change… Okay. Let’s do this.” He climbed onto her hands and nodded at her. “Okay. On three. One...”

“Two…”

“Three!” Tay-Lor braced himself as Princess Flos threw him into the air. Seconds before he flicked his feet and used launch himself right at the Red Lion. They opened their mouth and quickly scooped him up before flying to the stars.

***

“Huh, so that’s how it happened huh?” Asked Zell. “I guess she just wanted to annoy the Empress more than actually marry you?”

“I am starting to think that was the case.”

Zell chuckled. “She sure was a spunky one that Flos.”

“Yeah.”

He patted Tay-Lor’s shoulder and got up. “Okay. You get some sleep now since you still feel like shit. I’m going to talk to Matt.”

“You do that.”

Zell got up and walked to the door. “Oh one more thing Tay-Lor.”

“Yeah?”

“This is Lance’s room.”

Tay-Lor quickly looked up and was annoyed to find that he was indeed in Lance’s room. He groaned in annoyance and buried his face into the pillow. He didn’t care that he happened to wander into Lance’s room. He was tired and just wanted to sleep since his mind was so damn muddy at the moment.

***

Everyone was sitting in the common room, most of the conversation was taken up by Zell talking to Matt about the rebels, what they did, and how he could help them out. He was very proud to tell Matt how he used to be a smuggler before he ended up on Dotra. Matt was more than enthusiastic about having Zell join them.

“So then I knocked him out.” Said Zell. “But I didn’t realise that I’d knocked him into a live wire. Good thing my exoskeleton is nonconductive.”

Matt grinned. “Yeah. Good thing. So yeah, we’d be more than happy to have you join us. When we’ve finished up here I’d love it if you came back with me.”

That was when Zell dropped the bombshell. “Can Tay-Lor come too?”

Keith felt his heart sink as the mood in the room instantly grew cold. Tay-Lor wanted to leave? He really wanted to go? He didn’t know what to think. Tay-Lor hadn’t really said he wanted to leave to him, but then again why would he? Tay-Lor didn’t really seem to want him as much as he wanted him. But there was nothing he could do. He didn’t want to sound selfish because he knows he is.

“He wants to go?” Asked Hunk.

Zell nodded. “Well, yeah. Tay-Lor and I have been talking about this for a while. We decided it might be for the best if we left the castle as soon as we could. Don’t get me wrong, we both appreciate what you all have done, but Tay-Lor doesn’t want to remember his life as Lance. He just wants to be himself… I know you all miss Lance and want him back to some extent, but if you care about him and respect him as a person you’ll let him go.”

The paladin’s were quiet for a moment. Even if none of them admitted it, they all wanted him to remember something about his past. Anything about his past. More than anything everyone wanted Tay-Lor to remember something about them. Even if it was just a little something that something was completely random, they wanted him to recognise them.

“Well…” Said Allura quietly. “If that is what Tay-Lor really wants then he can go… He knows what is best for himself after all. If that is what he wants to do then it is his choice.”

The others seemed reluctant but agreed. Keith nodded along with them and agreed. Not because he wanted to, but because he felt like he had no choice. If Tay-Lor wanted to leave he wouldn’t force him to stay. But maybe he could talk to him and maybe see if he wanted to maybe keep in touch? He’d like that. Maybe? He wasn’t sure.

Matt shrugged. “Well that can be decided when he’s woken up. Since I’m here, I’m wondering if I can get your help with something.” He opened his data pad and linked it up to the table. He projected an image of several Galra battleships and something that looked like a cargo ship. “We have intel from the Blade that the Galra are transporting POWs from one arena in the venar quadrant to luxar seven… Apparently they need some more entertainment.”

Keith took a side eyed glance at Shiro. The man’s jaw was clenched tightly. This was nothing to joke or make light of. “Are you sure?” Asked Shiro.

Matt nodded. “Positive. “The Blade passed this info onto us because they first thought that the Galra might be moving weapons or machinery and wanted to stop them.”

“Why not just as the Blade to take care of this?” Asked Hunk. “Shouldn’t they be capable of that? They are like, cool ninja, space cats.”

Keith shook his head. “The Blade does espionage. They don’t do large scale rescue missions like this.”

“So what was their plan?” Asked Pidge. “Why not just send a normal prisonship?”

Matt shrugged. “That’s probably our fault. We’ve been targeting prisonships for a while now in this area. They probably figured that if it’s a cargo ship we’re less likely to try and attack them because they are generally more heavily armed when it comes to their machinery. Also, if things do go wrong for us and the whole mission goes sideways then they can tell the universe that we murdered innocent people.”

“Fair enough.” Muttered Shiro. “Alright, we’re more than happy to lend a hand. How long until we start the mission?”

“If the castle ship stays here then they will pass us in about two quintants.” Said Matt. “I can get back up here in about one varga.” Said Matt calmly. “We have a hideout on one of the moons. We have twenty ships. Three cargo, seven stolen and repurposed fighters, five tankers, and five stealth fighters. Think that’ll be good enough to help out?”

“More than enough.” Said Allura. “Shiro, Matt, Coran, Zell, follow me to the bridge. Everyone else, you’re dismissed.”

It was at that point when Tay-Lor walked in. He looked kind of pissed off but he still waved at everyone. “Hey.”

“Hey man what’s up?” Asked Hunk.

Tay-Lor looked at him and walked towards the larger man. He jabbed a finger into his chest. “You vomited in the simulator and then we had to clean it with Pidge. Right?”

Hunk and Pidge looked shocked. “Well yeah…” Said Hunk. “But that was like, years ago… Way before Voltron… Are you remembering?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Kind of. I can put a name and a face to everyone in my family. I know who Veronica is. I know who my twin sister is. I remember my brothers being assholes to me. I remember my parents and my grandparents and remember some parts of the… the Garrison… Some parts. I remember you getting sick a lot and some robot shooting oil in Pidge’s face and then they got zapped.”

Pidge almost tackled Tay-Lor when he said that. “Oh my god! Do you remember anything else? Do you remember Keith or Shiro?”

Tay-Lor looked over at Shiro. “Poster boy. Seen him on a lot of posters.”

Shiro almost snorted out a laugh. “Yeah. The Garrison did use me a lot for promotional material back in the day…”

Tay-Lor looked at Keith and stared blankly at him. “... And nothing. Sorry Keith. I still don’t remember shit about you.”

Keith shrugged. “It’s fine. Lance and I didn’t really get along very well back at the Garrison. Plus I don’t know if it’s better to be remembered for being sick or not being remembered at all.” Honestly though, that kind of stung.

“I guess… But to be fair I still don’t remember anything about Allura or Coran either.” Tay-Lor sighed in annoyance. “Fuck it. If anyone needs me I’m going to be in the hanggar.”

“Why?” Asked Pidge.

“I’m going to beat up Blue for knocking me into oblivion and fucking with my head!” Snapped Tay-Lor. “I need a weapon! I’m gonna shove a potato up her exhaust pipe! I’ve had enough head trauma!” He stomped out of the room and Hunk sighed.

“Okay, I’ll um… I’ll go and make sure Blue doesn’t squash him…” He muttered as he followed Tay-Lor.

Pidge got her data pad. “I’m so going to film this. It’s gonna be so stupid. Message me if you need any help planning this.”

Keith kind of just shrugged and followed the other two out. Tay-Lor didn’t remember him. He didn’t remember him at all. But that was a good thing, right? Maybe it was for the best. He and Lance argued a lot. What if the first thing he remembered about him was a stupid fight? He didn’t want to bring it up. And Tay-Lor was planning to leave and join the rebels soon anyway so he… There was no point.

He didn’t need to bring it up anyway. Tay-Lor had his own issues to deal with and didn’t need whatever the fuck Keith was dealing with. Besides there was a mission happening in two days They had to get ready for that.

Keith entered the hanggar just in time to see Tay-Lor getting held back by Pidge and Hunk. It looked like he was attempting to throw a spanner at Blue. He sighed and stood back to watch this unfold.


	26. Medbay mishap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... Enjoy the smut at the start of this chapter. So I was listening to one particular song all the way through writing the non smut part of this chapter, so like, if you want to listen to that give it a go if you like my music recommendations. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D
> 
> Ready to fight:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_PNZBUHBx8

Tay-Lor was still grumpy at Blue and pretty much kept to himself for the rest of the night. He did talk a little with Matt and Zell but pretty much decided to be alone, even though Keith did want to talk to him. Keith ended up going to the observation deck to try and clear his head. He sat on one end of the couch there and just looked up at the nebula. It was kind of green.

He wanted to talk to Tay-Lor and tell him how he felt. He wanted to tell him that he mattered and he was in love with him. That he wanted Tay-Lor to stay with him, and not because of the whole Lance thing. He was pathetic. Really he was.

He heard the doors woosh open and glanced up to see Tay-Lor walk into the room. He nodded a little at him and sat at the other end of the couch. Tay-Lor was obviously in deep thought about something. Keith wasn’t sure what it was though. 

“... So.” Keith said slowly. “You’re going to join the rebels?”

“Yes.” 

“Oh…” His disappointment was palpable.

“... You gonna miss me?”

“Obviously.”

Tay-Lor frowned at that. “Me or-?”

“You.” Said Keith as his face started to heat up like crazy. “Always you… I’ll always miss you. I really… I-I like you… Like, I like-like you…”

Tay-Lor looked very surprised to hear that. “Really? You haven’t tried to make a move on me though?”

Keith shrugged. His embarrassment was quickly taking over. He knew his face was as red as his lion was now. “I… I’m not good at feelings and emotions… I like you a lot, but I didn’t want to fuck you up since you’ve gone and had your whole life fucked with already… I just… I have no idea. I want you to be happy and I don’t think you’ll be happy with me. Even though we’ve had sex before doesn’t mean that you like me anyway…”

Tay-Lor seemed even more surprised to hear that. “Well I didn’t make a move on you because you didn’t make a move on me… I kind of just assumed you didn’t like me anymore since I look like Lance but I’m not...”

“...” Keith moved a little closer to him on the couch. “I don’t care if you’re Lance or not. You’re someone I want to be with… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry for liking me?” Asked Tay-Lor as he moved a little closer to him.

“The people I like have a tendency to kind of vanish…”

“But they’ve always come back for you, right?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Like, when they can?”

“I guess…”

Tay-Lor moved so he was next to Keith now. He looked kind of sad. “You should have told me earlier. You’ve been avoiding me for a while so I just… I kind of assumed you’d lost interest in me. I mean, you fucked me a few times and you kind of got to fuck Lance so… You know…”

“It was never about fucking Lance.” Said Keith. He sighed in annoyance and ran his fingers through his hair. “I… I wanted him to feel valued and appreciated… In hindsight I was shit to him and I… I don’t want to make the people I care about feel like that again…”

Tay-Lor gently held Keith’s hand. “... So you really like me?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Tay-Lor leaned in close and quickly kissed Keith’s cheek. “I… I like you too.” He said quietly. “I just… I don’t know… Feels a little late for all this stuff huh?”

“Probably…” Keith sighed and gently squeezed Tay-Lor’s hand. “Too late again, huh? I’m always an idiot when it comes to what I want.”

Tay-Lor hummed a little and looked at him. “So you want me huh? Like you really want me?”

“More than you realise…” Keith carefully threaded his fingers through Tay-Lor’s hair and gently pulled him close to kiss him. 

Tay-Lor didn’t fight him and melted into the kiss, trying to pull himself closer to the other man. There was an underlying yearning between them that neither of them really wanted to admit. Being close like that made Keith feel good. He hoped it made Tay-Lor feel the same.

He reluctantly pulled away from the other and smiled softly at him. “... My room?”

“Why not here?” Asked Tay-Lor.

“You have any lube on you?”

“... Good point.” Tay-Lor got up and pulled Keith to his feet. “Let’s get going.” 

Keith smiled and followed Tay-Lor as he led him through the castle to his room. Keith didn’t mind. The two of them entered Keith’s room and the heat under Keith’s skin started to grow. They kissed and started to run their hands over each other’s bodies. The two of them ended up tumbling onto Keith’s bed in a tangle of limbs.

Tay-Lor giggled as he ran his fingers over Keith’s shoulders. He smiled softly at him. “Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“I really like you. You make me really happy.”

Keith felt his face heat up too. “I… Stay with me? Please?”

“Maybe if you make me feel really good.” He teased. “Better be the best lay of my life if you don’t want me to run off to the rebels.”

Teasing or not Keith wanted to make him feel good. He wanted to make him feel amazing. He kissed down Tay-Lor’s neck and shuddered as he moaned. He was perfect. The two of them were soon shirtless and Tay-Lor was going for his pants. Before Keith could get him to slow down, Tay-Lor had Keith’s dick out in the open.

Tay-Lor moved them around so that he was in between Keith’s legs. Keith’s heart was hammering in his chest as the two of them locked eyes. Tay-Lor smirked and licked his cock from base to tip. Kissing the tip and giving him a quick wink.

“Tay-Lor, I-” 

Keith let out a loud moan as Tay-Lor quickly slid his lips across the head and he eagerly started to bob his head. It didn’t take long for him to relax his throat to the point he was practically kissing Keith’s pelvis. Keith shuddered and clutched the bedsheets as he tried to stop himself from instantly cumming down his lover’s throat. Noticing Keith’s struggle the next time Tay-Lor went down he stuck his tongue out and quickly swept it out across his balls.

“Shit!” Keith pulled Tay-Lor off of himself, though his cock seemed to twitch in protest. Keith panted heavily as he looked down at Tay-Lor. He was panting heavily with a dazed look on his face. “Since when did you have no gag reflex?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Nulites have long dicks and get pissy if you can’t take even half of it. I lost it pretty quickly… Along with my voice for a while.”

“... Shit.”

Tay-Lor smiled a little at him. “It’s whatever. I like being with you the most. You don’t make it about yourself. You make me feel good too.”

“... I haven’t exactly gotten around to that yet.”

“I like oral.”

“O-oh…”

“Yeah. So don’t overthink it. Just make the night memorable.” He quickly went back to going down on Keith and Keith quickly lost control of himself and ended up cumming down Tay-Lor’s throat. It was the first time the two of them had done oral. It was kind of hard to do when Tay-Lor was wearing a mask.

Keith pulled Tay-Lor into a kiss, tasting himself. It surprised how much it turned him on to taste himself on Tay-Lor’s lips. He pulled back slightly and practically growled out at him. “Pants off. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Hmm, yes sir.” Purred Tay-Lor as he got out of his pants.

Keith quickly went to his bedside table and grabbed some lube. When he looked back Tay-Lor he couldn’t help but groan. His lover was laying back against his pillow. He was blushing slightly, but he was smiling at him.

“What?” He asked. “Haven’t seen me naked before or something?”

“Not under this lighting. You’re beautiful.”

Tay-Lor blushed and smiled at him. “You really think I’m beautiful?”

“Yeah, I do.” Keith got between Tay-lor’s legs and started to finger him. It was music to Keith’s ears when he heard his lover moan. He wanted to hear more of those sounds. He pushed in a second finger and relished those wonderful sounds his lover made as he slowly opened him up. As he moved his fingers Tay-Lor kept rolling his hips up, making his cock bounce against his stomach. Keith licked his lips and quickly wrapped his lips around his cock.

“Oh fuck!” Moaned Tay-Lor. “Oh fuck, Keith! Fuck! I-I can’t! Fuck!” Apparently getting a blow job while being fingered was too much for Tay-Lor and he came in seconds.

“A-are you okay?” Asked Keith as Tay-Lor’s cum ran down lips and chin.

Tay-Lor gave him a thumbs up and chuckled slightly. “Yeah… That was… I think that’s the fastest I’ve cummed in like, forever.”

Keith smiled a little and kissed him. “Do you think you can-?”

“Yeah. Do it.” He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders and let Keith move his body around. Keith appreciated how eager and willing Tay-Lor was.”

With very little effort, Keith pushed into him. Both moaned in pleasure as Keith fully sunk into Tay-Lor’s welcoming heat. Before Keith could ask if Tay-Lor was okay the other quickly rolled his hips and kissed him. Quietly begging him to fuck him.

Keith happily obliged and started to thrust into him. Tay-Lor was loud and clung to Keith like he was his life line. To be fair Keith was doing the same thing. Suddenly Tay-Lor arched his back and cried loudly as he came. Keith groaned and came in him. 

The two of them laid panting next to each other when it was all over. “...” Keith gently touched Tay-Lor’s face. “Was it enough?”

“Hmm?”

“Was it enough to get you to stay?”

“... I’ll think about it.”

“... Sorry.” Said Keith quietly. “You don’t… I’m sorry…”

“Please don’t be sorry.” Said Tay-Lor. “I… I still have a lot of things I need to figure out. My memories are still muddy and I… I kind of understand some things better now but most of it…”

“Really? … Do you remember me?”

“A little… You were kind of a shit head.”

“... Yeah.”

“But I like you now and you’ve been nice to me.” Said Tay-Lor. He kissed his cheek and smiled. “I like you too, but I’m still trying to figure out who I am and my new place in the universe… I don’t know if I can do that if I stay with Voltron…”

“I-I understand…” Said Keith quietly. “Um… If we get you a datapad will you stay in contact? Visit from time to time when Matt does?”

“Of course.” Said Tay-Lor. “I… I don’t want to leave you completely.”

Keith didn’t really like this, but it was better than nothing. Tay-Lor was worth the effort. “Sure. We’ll go at your pace.”

“Okay… Does this mean we’re dating now?”

“... I think so? Do you want to date me?”

“I want to call you my boyfriend.” Said Tay-Lor. “... Can I call you my boyfriend?”

“... I want to call you my boyfriend. Can you call me your boyfriend?”

Tay-Lor smiled and hugged him. “Of course. Boyfriend. You’re my boyfriend. Boyfriend Keith.” He grinned and snuggled into his chest. “I like it.”

Keith smiled and cuddled him. “I like it too.” He yawned and closed his eyes. 

***

In a few varga’s the mission was going to take place. Tay-Lor and Zell didn’t really have much to do since they weren’t really involved in it. It was more of a Voltron and rebel’s mission. So they ended up hanging out in the medbay for a bit. Zell was looking for something to help with his itchy carapace. He said he felt like he was starting to molt again. 

Tay-Lor hummed to himself as he looked through cabinets. He was still confused and his head was still muddy, but he liked Keith a lot, and he was happy to know he still had interest in him. He really didn’t think that the man wanted him anymore after finding out who he used to be. He just gave up completely and went on with his life.

Zell seemed to notice the extra spring in his step. “Did something good happen?”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to be off in your own little world.”

Tay-Lor chuckled. “Yeah. I guess I am… I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Keith and I… We’re boyfriends now and I’m happy.” He said with a grin. “I honestly thought he lost all interest in me ever since… But he hasn’t so I… We’re dating now.”

“So you’re staying?”

“I… I’m not sure. I think I might just go with the rebels.” Said Tay-Lor. “My memories are coming back a lot faster now… I am pretty sure that’s the lion’s doing.”

“Probably.”

“Yeah… All I needed was a whack to the head with some kind of cosmic space sword in the weird purple in between place.”

The doors wooshed open and Allura walked in with Coran. “Ah, hello boys.” Said Coran. “Did one of you get injured?”

Zell held up his arm showing his carapace slowly becoming unstuck on his arm. “I’m molting.”

“Ah, okay. I think I have some stuff for that.” Coran happily walked over to a medicine cabinet and started to look through it.

Allura stood back with Tay-Lor and smiled a little at him. “Hello.” 

“Hi.”

“So, how are you?” She asked. “Have you packed your things?”

“Yeah… I’m ready to leave when the mission is over.” He said. “Thanks for everything you guys have done. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem… Even if you weren’t who you are we still would have helped you.” Said Allura. “You know that right?”

Tay-Lor chuckled a little and smiled at her. “Yeah… Sorry Coran’s treatment thing didn’t really work.”

“It’s alright.” She said quickly. “It was an experimental treatment to begin with. It might have even contributed to well… Everything that happened.”

He shrugged. “Probably. Anyway, it’s whatever… So you’re almost ready for your mission?”

“Yep. In about three varga’s we’ll-” The ship violently shook as alarms started to go off. “Quiznack! They are early?!” Allura quickly called the rest of the team. “Paladins! To you lions now! They got here earlier than expected!”

The castle shook again, much more violently than before. Zell stumbled back and fell into Allura, Coran tumbled over a table, Tay-Lor hit the floor. Allura cried out in pain and the larger lien quick got off her. His loose carapas had sliced deeply into her arm. She was bleeding pretty badly and her face was contorting in pain.

“Quiznack!” He hissed. “Quiznack! Quiznack! Quiznack!”

_Lor… It’s..._

“Princess!” Cried Coran. He quickly grabbed some bandages and ran over to her and quickly administered first aid.

“I am so sorry!” Said Zell. “I am so, so so, sorry!”

“It’s fine!” Hissed Allura in pain. “Just… Just patch me up so I can get to Blue.”

_Time..._

“Allura, you can’t even close your hand. You can’t pilot Blue.” Said Coran.

She laughed a little, even though it was clear she was in pain. “Don’t you worry about that. I can do it. See?” She tried and failed to make a proper fist. “Quiznack…”

_Tay-Lor..._

“You can’t pilot blue like this.” Said Coran firmly.

_It’s time Tay-Lor._

Tay-Lor frowned a little as he ran his fingers through his hair. Allura was down and now he was hearing weird voices in his head. He hated it. Did they really need Blue out there? Maybe? Yes? No? He didn’t know.

“... Fuck it.”

***

Everyone had scrambled out to get into their lions and get into the fight. They would have to improvise. Keith was good at improvising. He quickly zipped through the small fighters and took out at many of them as he could. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Green drawing fire from one of the warships as Yellow quickly rammed into it and took it out. 

Suddenly Shiro’s voice came over the intercom. _“Can anyone get a hold of Allura?”_

 _“Is she even out yet?”_ Asked Hunk.

“I haven’t seen her.” Said Keith. “Shiro, on your right.” Black dived past him, narrowly avoiding getting hit by several of the smaller fighters. “Matt, are you there? Are you on the cargo ship yet?”

 _“Yep. Just landed.”_ He said. _“I’ll let you know if anything comes up. Just keep them distracted.”_

 _“Think you can take down that warship Kieth?”_ Asked Shiro.

“On it.” Keith quickly knuckled down and raced towards the warship in question as fast as he could. He and Red had to have lightning fast reactions as he got closer and closer. Once he was close enough he shot Red’s laser across the hull and nose of the ship.

 _“Alright Keith!”_ Cheered Pidge.

 _“Way to go buddy!”_ Praised Hunk.

 _“Nice work Keith.”_ Said Shiro. _“Now take out those guns. Pidge, can you make contact with the Blue Lion?”_

 _“I’m trying, but Allura’s not picking up.”_ Said Pidge. _“I’d troubleshoot it, but it’s not that easy to do when I’m under fire here!”_

 _“When you get the chance do it.”_ Said Shiro. _“I still can’t see Blue anywhere.”_

Keith drowned out that noise and concentrated on the task at hand. All he had to do was take out the gun towers on this warship and then it would be helpless. He could get to the others and take them out too. Red’s paws thundered across the hull at a rapid pace as he charged up her laser. But before he could fire a distance blast from one of the other warships struck him, knocking Red hard enough to send her offline.

“FUCK!” Keith yelled as he desperately yanked at the controls. “Come on! Come on! Come on!” After suffering a hit like that it would realistically take a few seconds for Red to power back up, But a second is the difference between life and death in a battle.

The gun he was racing towards had taken aim at him and was starting to charge up. Keith was quietly swearing as he violently jerked the control some more. He needed to race away before he got hit.

 _“Keith is down!”_ Called Pidge.

Keith braced himself for impact when a beam of blue energy shot out of nowhere and froze the gun. Seconds later Blue barreled through the gun, shattering it. Around that time Red kicked back into action and was ready to go.

“Thanks Allura.” Said Keith. “You’re a lifesaver.”

 _“Where were you?”_ Asked Shiro. _“Is your comms broken?”_

Allura didn’t say anything and Blue raced across the hull towards the bridge with the animalistic speed of a real lion. They shot another beam of ice at the bridge seconds before crashing into it. Effectively putting the enter warship out of commission. Blue landed on the ship with the elegance and ease of a real lion. It was almost impossible to tell that Blue was a robot lion and not a real lion with the way they were moving.

“... You okay there Allura?” Asked Keith.

 _“Still trying to troubleshoot it!”_ Said Pidge

 _“I’m here Paladins!”_ Called Allura.

 _“Good to see you Allura.”_ Said Shiro. _“Are you okay? Was there something wrong with your comms?”_

 _“No. I only just got to the bridge.”_ Said Allura calmly. _“I injured myself when the Galra started attacking the ship.”_

 _“Wait…”_ Said Hunk. _“If you’re in the castle, then who is piloting Blue?”_

There was a sudden crackle over the comms and a familiar voice started ringing out. _“Finally! I swear this is just the worst!”_ Complained Tay-Lor. _“Way too many buttons.”_

 _“Holy shit!”_ Swore Pidge. _“Tay-Lor’s piloting Blue!”_

 _“How?”_ Asked Hunk.

 _“Eh, you know.”_ Said Tay-Lor as Blue started leaping around and gracefully chomping Galra fighters out of space. _“When some magical blue space lion tells you to get in the robot, you get in the robot… Now, we can either talk about this or we can like, keep fighting?”_

 _“Tay-Lor’s right.”_ Said Shiro. _“Stick to the mission. Tay-Lor, keep doing what you’re doing. We need as many of those fighters down as possible. Allura, can you cover us? From the castle?”_

 _“I’m on it.”_ She said.

Keith quickly shot back up and headed to the next warship where Tay-Lor was already wrecking house. Keith quickly opened a private line between the lions. “Hey Tay-Lor?”

_“Kind of busy now Keith.”_

“I know. Just… It’s nice to have you back piloting Blue.”

 _“Aw, thanks.”_ Said Tay-Lor. _“It’s nice to sit in the cockpit without getting my conscious yeeted into weird purple space to get bashed in the head by Voltron.”_

“... You lead a very interesting life.”

_“Damn straight I do samurai.”_

“Do you even know what a samurai is?”

_“Not a fucking clue. But I know you are one.”_

Keith chuckled a little and started to take out anything Galra that came his way. “Alright. You got my back sharpshooter?”

 _“Forever and always samurai.”_ Said Tay-Lor.


	27. Electroshock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you all enjoy this one. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D

If Tay-Lor was being honest with himself, he never thought he would step foot inside the Blue Lion’s cockpit again after the first mishap. But after Allura hurt herself he felt like a small piece of metal getting drawn to a much more powerful magnet. But before he jumped into Blue he knew he had to grab three things first; his mask, his exoskeleton legs, and Lance’s bayard. Well, technically it was his bayard too, but he needed to take a detour to the armoury to get it.

Anyway, he was out in space, flying Blue in the middle of a vicious space fight and he had no idea what the hell he was doing, but Blue actually seemed pretty chill about the whole thing. She was like an extension of his own mind and allowed him to move with relative freedom.

He wasn’t completely comfortable with flying Blue around through space, but he was more than happy enough to make Blue jump from ship to ship. It was more natural for him. Flying was still odd to him, but he could do this. He could take care of himself, but he had to work as a team. He wasn’t very good at working as a team. He didn’t get much of a chance to work with anyone other than Zell on Dotra. So this was a sharp learning curve.

He quickly dipped and dived out of the way as he tried to avoid gunfire across the bridge of the warship. He was about to shoot another ice blast at the bridge when a streak of red flew past him and did a sharp left turn around the entire hull of the ship while blasting Red’s laser the entire time.

“Aw Keith!” Whined Tay-Lor. “I had that one!”

 _“Gotta be faster than that.”_ Teased Keith. _“Thought you had my back sharpshooter?”_

“Oh hush your mouth samurai.”

Shiro’s voice came over the intercoms. _“Alright guys. Pidge and Hunk have taken out the last warship. We just have the small fighters to take care of. You two want to head down to the cargo ship and give Matt some help?”_

“Yeah. I prefer fighting hand to hand anyway.” Said Tay-Lor. He quickly landed Blue on the cargo ship and entered at the closest entry point. He was almost disappointed to see that it was all robots. He took out the bayard and looked at it for a moment. He shook it a few times and it morphed into a gun. “... I like this.”

Tay-Lor quickly stepped out from his hiding spot and started shooting. The robots movements were way too stiff and too predictable. They couldn’t even hit him when he started to close the distance and start to use his exoskeleton legs to start jumping around like crazy. By the time they had lined up a shot he was gone and two more of them were down.

Once again a streak of red shot past him and Keith was quickly engaging in hand to hand combat with the robots. It was kind of breathtaking to see Keith fight in person. He was beautiful. It made him want to try and pick up a sword himself.

They quickly cleared out the area. Keith stretched and grinned at him. “Hey. You’re wearing your mask huh?”

“To be fair the old Blue paladin helmet is broken to shit.” He tapped his mask. “Besides, I’m more used to fighting with this one.”

“You look good.”

Tay-Lor could feel his face heating up. “Are you saying I look better with my mask on?”

“Hmm, maybe I am Sharpshooter. You’ll never know.”

Keith was flirting with him. He totally was. Tay-Lor could totally work with that. “Whatever you say, Samurai… is that a bayard in your pants or are you just happy to see me?”

“... My bayard is in my hand. I- Oh!” Keith blushed a little and punched Tay-Lor’s arm. “Shut up man.”

Tay-Lor laughed and rubbed the spot where Keith punched him. “So you guys fight robots all the time?”

“It’s not uncommon.” Said Keith. He got his comms out and called Matt. “Hey Matt? How is it going?”

 _“Yeah, having a bit of trouble. Kind of a good news, bad news situation here.”_ He said quietly. _“I need the master key to free the prisoners and the Warden has it on them. I can’t hack the bridge either. They are using an encryption I haven’t seen before.”_

 _“Give me a tick.”_ Said Pidge. _“I’ll be down there and see if I can help you hack it. Tay-Lor, Keith, can you two keep your hands off each other long enough to find the warden?”_

Keith blushed horribly while all Tay-Lor could do was grin like an idiot. “H-How did you know we were dating?” Asked Keith. “We only just started like last night.”

_“I know everything.”_

“Beware the tech gremlin.” Warned Tay-Lor. “We’ll keep an eye out for the warden.”

 _“Good work team.”_ Said Shiro. _“Hunk and I have almost finished taking down the fighters out here. Remember, get the prisoners to the loading bay and Yellow will transport the majority back to the castle ship. Black will take anyone else that can’t fit in Yellow. Got that team?”_

There was a sound of confirmation and the team quickly went to work. Tay-Lor and Keith quickly got to work. Keith took the charge and dove headfirst into the fray while Tay-Lor covered him. They actually worked pretty well and Tay-Lor was actually having fun. If shooting robots could really be considered fun. Which, to be honest, it kind of was.

Though Tay-Lor was interested in finding this Warden person. That seemed like it might be the easiest. Then again might have been able to figure out the Galra encryption thing really easily, so he wasn’t sure. In the end he decided it didn’t matter that much.

They walked down a quiet, cold hallway. The only things they could hear were the sounds of the ship humming and the occasional sounds of ships getting destroyed outside. But there was suddenly a different sound. It was subtle and quiet. It made him pause. Keith took notice.

“Something wrong?”

“... I heard something.” Said Tay-Lor. “Sounded like a crackle… Like an electric crackle?”

“... I don’t hear anything.”

Tay-Lor sighed. “Yeah. Maybe I’m just imagining it or something? I-” He heard it again, just behind them. Without thinking Tay-Lor spun around and shot in the direction of the sound.

“FUCK!” Yelled the Warden as their body got clipped and the camouflage they were using to disguise themselves. They were some rather large, bulky looking Galra with a batton. They growled and struck the batton against the wall making it crackle to life with electricity. “Fucking Voltron.”

They took off down the hall and Tay-Lor quickly sprung into action. Quite literally. The exoskeleton made it easy enough for him to launch after the Warden with lightning speed. He could easily take out this guy, take his key card, and get the prisoners out. He vaguely heard Keith calling out for him to stop, but he didn’t listen.

Tay-Lor quickly ran down a hallway and went to round a corner. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the batton coming down on him. It struck him in the back of the neck and hundreds of watts of electricity shot through his body before he felt it again, striking him right in the mask. It sent even more electricity through his body. He stumbled back and got punched in the face. Tay-Lor stumbled back and hit the wall.

Part of his mask crumbled and fell off in his lap. Before he could register what was going on he felt the Warden grab him by the chest and threw him through a window into the main cargo hold. He hit a crate hard and slammed onto the floor. His head was swimming. Tay-Lor was seeing stars with the occasional explosion of colour. There was a terrible ringing in his ears and he stayed down. Unable to to move. His body felt heavy and he kind of wanted to close his eyes for just a bit.

***

Keith managed to get over to them in time to see the Warden throw Tay-Lor out the window and jump after them. He ran over to the window, kicking something across the ground. Looking down it was a large chunk of Tay-Lor’s mask.

“... Shit.” He quickly got into contact with Matt as he looked around. “Matt I need some help. I found the Warden and they are in cargo bay… 3. Need a distraction. Now.”

 _“On it.”_ Said Matt. _“Try not to get hit by anything.”_

Keith didn’t really have time to figure out what Matt meant by that as he jumped out the window to where the Warden was. They were walking towards Tay-Lor who looked like he was struggling to get back up. 

Suddenly the lights went off and Keith’s helmet instantly went to night vision mode. It was a little jarring but Keith quickly adapted to the night vision and quickly ran to the Warden. He went to strike him, but the heard him coming and managed to deflect the attack with his baton.

“Nice try Red Paladin.” They growled. “Get the fuck off my ship.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Growled Keith as he fought back while dodging any electrical attacks from baton. Duck, strike, parry, dodge, dodge, repeat. The Warden was fast, but Keith was just that little bit faster. He just needed an opening. He could hear the other’s on the radio as he fought for both his and Tay-Lor’s lives.

 _“Okay guys I made it to the bridge!”_ Said Pidge. _“Gonna start trying to hack the system._

 _“Good work.”_ Said Shrio. _“Hunk and I are almost done out here. Keith, where are you and Tay-Lor at?”_

“Kind of busy at the moment!” Snapped Keith as he narrowly dodged getting hit in the face.

 _“Keith’s fighting the Warden in cargo bay 3.”_ Said Matt. _“I have a visual on him. Tay-Lor is down._

 _“We’ll be there soon buddy.”_ Said Hunk. _“We’re almost done out- Shiro on your left!”_

 _“Got it!”_ There were a few seconds of silence before Shiro came back. _“Keith, can you hold out until we get there?”_

Keith jumped back, almost getting a face full of electrified baton. “Yep. Just hurry up. Okay?” The Warden went to strike Keith again and Keith went to parry. But they quickly moved and ended up kicking Keith in his chest, knocking him back into a crate. The night vision in his helmet started to flicker. “Shit. Matt! Lights on! My night vision is acting up!”

 _“On it!”_ Seconds later the lights were back on. 

The Warden was temporarily dazed and Keith took his chance to get the upper hand. He managed to get a few hits in on him, but the Warden’s armor was thick and he couldn’t just slice through him. That wasn’t to say he didn’t hit him hard. He was pretty sure that he might have cracked their ribs.

Unfortunately the Warden quickly regained his composure quicker than Keith expected and he got struck in the stomach with the baton. He was stunned and the Warden kicked him hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

He groaned and tried to sit up but it was difficult. That baton packed one hell of a punch. He looked up and watched as the Warden was confidently striding towards him with a smirk on his face.

“You really think that one paladin could take me down?” They growled. “And you? The Red Paladin of all Paladins? A short range fighter? You should have sent the Yellow Paladin after me or the Blue Paladin, but wait… The Blue Paladin’s been gone for deca-pheobes now hasn’t he?”

They raised their baton and went to strike Keith again, but a sudden gun shot rang out, almost knocking the baton out of the Warden’s hand. Both looked over at Tay-Lor. The man was on his knees and looked a little dazed.

“Huh… I missed? Can we try again?” He asked. “I was aiming for your head.” Tay-Lor dusted himself off and stretched. “Well, you did smash me in the head a few times that just… I can’t tell if you knocked some sense into me or knocked more out of it. I-” 

They loved their foot the wrong way and accidentally knocked himself across the room when the exoskeleton legs went off. Both Keith and the Warden cringed slightly when he face planted and skid across the ground. To his credit he quickly jumped back up and was grinning like a mad man with a crazed look in his eye.

“I’m okay!” He said. “I think… Shit, where did my bayard go? Ah! There it is!” He quickly scrambled over and grabbed it. “Got it!”

Keith face palmed. “You’re going to get us both killed.”

“Oh hush your face Red.” Said Tay-lor as he pointed his bayard at him. “Give me a few minutes to get my bearings again. Every time I get knocked around like that my whole world goes up and down and left to right and then diagonal and back to front.”

The Warden did not seem very amused by this bander. “Who are you?” Growled they growled. “I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU-”

“I DON’T KNOW!!!” Yelled Tay-Lor. He sighed heavily and casually swung their bayard around. “Well that’s the thing isn’t it? I know I’m the Blue Paladin now, but my mind is all scrambled up. Like scrambled eggs. Like, what kind of Blue Paladin am I?” They started to walk around the room, seemingly not giving a fuck. “Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Right handed? Left handed? A lover? A fighter? A coward? Good? Bad? Neutral? Do I sympathise with the Galra or do I hate you? It’s all untested.”

“STOP MOVING OR I WILL-”

“I’M NOT DONE TALKING YET!” Screamed Tay-Lor. He grinned and happily continued on his rant. “Am I a liar? Do I talk a lot? Well that’s a given considering what I am doing now, but you know what?”

“... What?” Growled the Warden. They looked like they were about to blow a fuse.

Tay-Lor grinned. “I get to decide who I am and no one gets to tell me what I get to be… And speaking of...” Tay-Lor quickly jumped at them and cracked them straight in the jaw. They stumbled back and Tay-Lor quickly jumped again, using his exoskeleton legs he quickly hit him in the small of his back. Knocking him to the ground. They quickly jumped onto their back and pressed the barrel of the gun against their head, grinning wildly.

“...” The Warden dropped their batton and growled. “Fine. You win. Kill me.”

“Nah. I’m not the kind of guy that will just murder you outright.” Said Tay-Lor. “Doesn’t seem like I think I would do. Because I am… I’m… I’m Lance Tay-Lor McClain. The Blue Paladin of Voltron. And don’t you fucking forget it.” They smacked the Warden hard in the temple, knocking them out.

When he grabbed the key he walked over to Keith to help him up. Keith was just staring at him in shock. “Lance Tay-Lor McClain?”

They shrugged. “Well after getting electrocuted, knocked into a wall, and just got the ever loving shit knocked out of me repeatedly things have kind of just… I guess they really just clicked for me? I don’t know. But I don’t really feel like Lance and I don’t really feel like Tay-Lor anymore… I’ll come up with a better name.” 

“So… What do I call you? Tay-Lor or Lance?”

They shrugged again. “I… You know what? Who really gives a fuck at the moment? I’m still trying to figure out what my balance is between the two.” Out of the corner of Keith’s eye he could see the Warden starting to move.

“Um… Tay-Lor?”

“But you know what? There is one thing about me that I definitely know about myself.” He said. The Warden went for their baton, but before they could touch it, they pointed their bayard at him and pulled the trigger. The Warden’s head popped off their shoulders like a balloon. “I’m a man that doesn’t give second chances.” They smiled a little and lightly nudged Keith’s arm. “Let’s get this key card to Matt.”

Keith smiled a little and nodded. “Sure… So do you have all of your memories back? Like the ones from Lance?”

“Hush love. We’ll talk about that later. We have prisoners to save.”


	28. Iris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! So I finally remembered what that damn song was that I really, really liked that was a huge inspiration for this fic. I mainly remember it because there was this cute Klance amv for it was was really well edited. So I included links to the original song and the klance amv down there. Like, look at both if you want but this song really got my creative juices flowing. Mwahahaha! I promise I'll get back to my other fics now. I just got on a roll with this and powered through the last few chapters. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D
> 
> Goo Goo Dolls - Iris  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYWuo9OFAw
> 
> Iris (Klance AMV)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjdWHalUBTw

After the Warden was killed the prisoners were rescued fairly quickly and taken back to the castle without a hitch. All in all the mission was a roaring success with the only real hiccup being Allura getting hurt. The prisoners were happy and safe. Matt was already making arrangements with the rest of the rebels to get housing for the prisoners.

Keith had wanted to look for Tay-Lor and talk to him, but the Blue Paladin had managed to slip away in the middle of all the excitement. Tay-Lor was surprisingly good at doing that. He did ask around to see if anyone knew where he went, but no one knew anything.

This didn’t seem right, so Keith went off looking for him. It didn’t take Keith too long to find him in the medbay. He was sitting on the ground with a first aid kit in front of himself. The remains of his broken mask were scattered around him and he was busy cleaning small cuts on his face.

“Do you need any help?” Asked Keith.

The man glanced over at Keith and shrugged. “If you want. I don’t mind.”

Keith walked over and sat in front of them and very carefully started to clean the cuts on his face. “... You got really banged up there, huh?”

“Yeah. I did… But who would have thought getting fried and knocked around was the thing I needed to really knock some sense into me.”

Keith chuckled a little and smiled. “Yeah.”

They smiled a little before it quickly dropped. “You guys… You really didn’t appreciate Lance when he was around, did you? He was just the convenient paladin of voltron… I was always dumber than the rest of you. Not nearly as battle ready. Couldn’t even come up with an idea or something original… I can’t count the number of times that I came up with an idea, it was shot down before I finished explaining, then someone else would improve on it and finish my idea. Taking all the credit…”

“Tay-Lor…”

“I was just the seventh wheel.”

Keith hated how they were talking about themselves, but in hindsight he knew it was true. But Lance was so much more than all that. It frustrated him. “What are you talking about? The seventh wheel? Don’t even joke about that. Lance was one of the only things keeping us together. He was always smiling, joking around, keeping our spirits up… Everyone here is a fucking wreck. I’m an unstable ball of emotions, Shiro has PTSD, Hunk has anxiety, Pidge has family issues, Allura and Coran have to suffer being the last Alteans… But Lance was always there for us to ground us and bring us back to what was important.”

“... You sure do talk a lot.”

“Well it’s true.” Said Keith quietly. “... Voltron almost fell apart without Lance. We couldn’t form Voltron for ages, and when Blue finally accepted Allura as her Paladin, it felt like Blue was only doing it because she had no other option… It almost took us a whole deca-phoebe to figure out how our new team dynamic was going to work without him. Lance was and is still missed by everyone.”

Tay-Lor heard what he said and thought it over. Those usually beautiful crystal blue eyes were clouded in thought. “So you all still really miss Lance huh?”

“We’re always going to miss the people we love when we lose them.” Said Keith quietly. He wanted to prove to him that he and everyone else understood that Lance was gone and no one expected him to be Lance now that he remembered everything. “... Come with me.”

He took Tay-Lor by the hand and started to lead him down the hallways until they got to the holodeck. They smiled at Tay-Lor, who looked confused, but Keith just pulled him inside.

“Keith, what are we-?”

_“Please state location.”_

“Find file AI_Lance” Said Keith.

_“Searching for; AI_Lance.”_

Tay-lor frowned. “Keith? What are you doing?”

_“File found. AI_Lance.”_

“Doing something that Pidge said needed to be done months ago… Delete AI_Lance.”

Tay-Lor looked alarmed. “What? You want to delete it? Keith! What the hell?”

Keith shrugged. “I’m the only one that has used it for months now… Unless you want to keep it around to ask it questions directly? I mean, all his vlogs are saved and you can find any answers in it if you want?”

“...No, you can delete it but… Are you sure?” Asked Tay-Lor. “Like really sure?”

_“Please confirm. Do you wish to delete AI_Lance?”_

“... Yes.”

_“... AI_Lance has been deleted.”_

“There. It’s done.” Said Keith quietly.

Tay-Lor stared at him quietly for a moment. “You got rid of the A.I? For good?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah… Lance is gone. You aren’t Lance. You’re the only person I care about and care for. If you will have me?”

“... Of course I’ll have you.” Said Tay-Lor quietly. “I… Shit, I really… You really are something… Does everyone else know about me? With my memory coming back and stuff?”

Keith shook his head. “No. We kind of had to rescue the prisoners. Like, they were kind of the priority and all that…”

Tay-Lor smiled a little. “Yeah… If you don’t mind, I want to tell them about it myself… I-I need to tell Zell first.”

“Of course.” Said Keith. “It’s not my news to tell.”

“Thank you… We should probably go back and help out before people notice we’re missing.” Said Tay-Lor. 

He held Keith’s hand and the two of them walked out of the holodeck and back to where everyone was. Hunk and Pidge were running around getting food for everyone while Coran was quickly doing a basic check up on some of the more shaken prisoners. Allura, Matt, and Shiro were talking to people that seemed to be the self designated spokespeople for them. Keith kind of just stood back. He wasn’t good with this stuff.

Zell was off over the other side of the room, picking as his carapace. Tay-Lor squeezed Keith’s hand and quickly went over to them. They hugged and were talking about something, but Keith couldn’t hear what it was about. Too many people.

After a little while Shiro came over to Keith and smiled at him. “We did pretty well. I can’t believe that Tay-Lor was able to pilot Blue. Sure, Allura got hurt for it to happen, but he was piloting Blue… I wonder if we can form Voltron with him?”

Keith shrugged and looked back over at Zell and Tay-Lor. They seemed to be having a very serious conversation now. Tay-Lor was using a lot of hand gestures. The longer Keith looked at him the more his heart sank. Just because he had his memories back and could pilot Blue didn’t mean he would stay with them. Wouldn’t stay with him.

“He’s still joining the rebels.” Said Keith. “He doesn’t want to be a part of Voltron anymore…”

Shiro frowned a little and sighed. “Well, it is his choice… But he really would be a good addition to the team. He’s always been a good edition to the team.”

“Yeah, but maybe he needs this to grow?” Suggested Keith. “Like, he doesn’t know who he is or his real place in the universe anymore… He needs something else… Something that isn’t Voltron.”

“I guess…” Said Shiro quietly. “But, as long as it’s his choice then I’m okay with what he wants… After all the stuff he’s been through it’s only fair that he gets to decide how he lives his life now.”

“Yeah… I know…”

“... Keith? What’s wrong?”

“We’re dating.”

Shiro seemed surprised. “Oh? Really? Pidge wasn’t just messing around?”

Keith shook his head. “I love him Shiro. I really love him. But I… I want him to do what he wants and I know I’m selfish. I’ve always been selfish.”

“... Oh Keith.”

“I also kind of deleted the Lance A.I before confirming with Pidge that she was really okay with that.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah…”

Shiro sighed a little and patted his back. “You two will be able to make it work. I know you will. You’re both stubborn jackasses.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Thanks for that.”

***

Eventually everyone was settled in and the castleship was heading to the rebel base. Once they landed the prisoners were quickly moved off to their food halls and sleeping quarters. Everyone was very thankful that Voltron was able to help. Many of the rebels took their time to catch up with the Paladins.

Keith stood back again and watched as Zell, Tay-Lor, and Matt were talking. They seemed happy. Hell, Matt and Tay-Lor were fist bumping. It was weird. Keith wasn’t sure if Tay-Lor told Matt about his memory thing. Was Tay-Lor even going to tell the rest of the team? Was he going to keep this a secret?

Eventually the rebels started to disperse and it was just team Voltron, Matt, Tay-Lor and Zell. Matt grinned and hugged Pidge tightly. “Later Katie. Gonna miss you.”

She laughed and hugged him back. “Gonna miss you too. Stay safe now. Okay?”

“Only if you do.” He ruffled up Pidge’s hair and smiled at everyone. “It was good to see you all and work with you again.”

“It was good to see you again Matt.” Said Shiro. “Always is.”

“Voltron is always here to help.” Said Allura. She looked over at Tay-Lor and Zell. “I’m glad we were able to meet the both of you. You’re both remarkable people.”

Zell chuckled a little. “Well thank you for helping us get off Dotra. Neither of us would have been able to-” The loose carapace on Zell’s forearm fell off. 

Tay-Lor picked it up. “I’m keeping this.”

“Sure. You do that.” He said. “Anyway, as I was saying, Tay-Lor and I are both thankful for Voltron doing what they are doing… I’m glad that someone’s taking the Galra head on. Maybe once I get a ship again I can start giving those bastard’s what’s coming to them?”

Tay-Lor shrugged. “Probably.”

“Don’t be a stranger now.” Said Hunk. “You guys have to call us when you’re able to.”

“Yeah.” Said Pidge. They handed over a datapad to Zell and Tay-Lor. “Now you got no excuse not to call. That’s Pidge tech right there. No way it can break for any reason… Unless you smash it with a hammer or something… Please don’t smash it with a hammer.”

“I won’t.” Said Zell. “Thank you very much Pidge.”

Allura's smile softened a little when her eyes landed on Tay-Lor. “Then I guess this is goodbye? It was an honour meeting you Tay-Lor.”

Tay-Lor gave her a slightly lopsided grin. “You think you can get rid of me that easily? I mean, Blue decided I’m her Paladin again. You might wanna keep me around.”

“You’re going to stay?!” Blurted out Keith in shock.

Tay-Lor grinned at him. “Yeah. I’m staying.”

***

The Voltron team was shocked to say the least, but Keith couldn’t help but smile. Tay-Lor wanting to stay with the team was good right? He wanted to be with them out of his own free will, right? Maybe? He wasn’t sure.

When they were all back on the ship and sitting around the common room Tay-Lor explained that he got a lot more memories back. He had a clearer understanding who he was and what his past was now, and he was a little pissed off at everyone. He went off at everyone, going on about how they didn’t appreciate Lance for who he was until he was gone.

“Like seriously! What the fuck? You guys are meant to be a team!” Snapped Tay-Lor. “If I’m going to stick around we seriously need to work as a team and actually respect everyone for who they are. That includes the people you all think contributes nothing. Don’t try and deny it. Lance’s vlogs are public knowledge. I know all about it.”

Things had been a little awkward for a while after that, but with some reassurance and admitting their faults things calmed down and everyone went about having dinner and, in Keith’s opinion, things were kind of like they were before Lance left. Though Tay-Lor was a lot more blunt and called people out on their bullshit a lot more. He was kind of like a slightly less sassy version of Pidge. It was pretty funny.

Eventually everyone got tired and started to head to bed until the only ones left were Keith and Tay-Lor. Tay-Lor sighed and leaned against Keith and cuddled his arm. “Man… That went a lot smoother than I expected. I can’t believe I got everyone to practically shit themselves… I thought Hunk was going to cry… I’m glad he didn’t though. Hunk’s too sweet.”

Keith nodded in agreement. “Yeah… I haven’t seen Shiro get a verbal beat down like that in forever… But I’m glad you were assertive with everyone.”

Tay-Lor grinned and cuddled him. “Yeah. Lance wasn’t nearly as assertive as this. I’m happy things worked out this way… I-I think staying with Voltron’s the right choice.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He kissed Keith’s cheek. “So, where am I gonna sleep tonight Keith? With you or all alone?”

Keith’s face started to heat up and he quickly looked away. “M-my room if you want…”

“Of course I want.” He stood up and lazily pulled Keith to his feet. “By the way, did you tell Pidge you deleted her A.I. yet?”

“No, but she’s probably going to find out soon enough.” Said Keith. “A-anyway… Bedroom?”

Tay-Lor chuckled and happily walked with Keith to his room. As soon as they were in there, Tay-Lor pulled Keith onto the bed and happily kissed him. Keith kissed back and ran his fingers through Tay-Lor’s hair.

“Hmm, you really want this?” Asked Keith. “Like, staying in Voltron and stuff?”

“Yes. Fuck yes Keith.” Said Tay-Lor in an almost breathless voice. “I want this… I want all of this. Don’t you want me?”

“Of course I want you. You’re my boyfriend, right?” Asked Keith.

Tay-Lor chuckled a little and grinned. “Yeah. I’m your boyfriend.”

“Hmm, just got a question though.”

“Yeah?”

“You said before you don’t feel like Lance or Tay-Lor anymore.” Said Keith. “You said you kind of feel like a mix of both? Do you want everyone to keep calling you Tay-Lor? Go back to Lance? Lance Tay-Lor? Tay-Lor Lance?” He was serious about this too. There were two very distinct personalities attached to those names. Keith wanted them to be comfortable with who they were. Hell, he’d be happy if they decided their name was completely different to Lance or Tay-Lor. They could call themselves Jeff for all he cared. Just as long as they were comfortable with it and who they were.

Tay-Lor seemed surprised. “Keith… We’ve, I’ve been through so much already and my memory is weird. It’ll get better as the days go on, but I… I know it’s my decision overall, but who am I to you?” They asked softly. “What is my name?”

Keith shrugged. “You get to choose what your name is. You are your own person. No one gets to tell you who you are.” He ran his fingers through their hair while staring into their eyes. Those beautiful blue pools of emotion. “So you tell me? Who are you, Blue Paladin? What’s your name?”

“...” They smiled a little and kissed him. “My name is…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to keep the ending a little ambitious with if our Blue Paladin decided to stay as Tay-Lor, Lance, or something else. Just like how they get to chose I think, you the reader, can decide who they are.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! Even if you didn't leave a comment and just left a kudos. I appreciate you all. Thank you all for sticking it out and I hope you will check out some of my other fics if you feel like it. Have an awesome day. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading ]<3 <3 <3


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